Murder-suicides take grim toll: 4 lives in 14 hours

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – Community members are looking for answers after murder-suicides in Augusta and Aiken claimed four lives in 14 hours.

What do these cases have in common and what lessons do they hold?

The Aiken murder-suicide unfolded just before 11 a.m. Monday at the Murphy USA gas station at 3575 W. Richland Ave. – a sad echo of another murder-suicide the night before on Holden Drive in Augusta.

The victim was identified as 43-year-old Tiffany Britt, and the shooter was her husband, 55-year-old George Britt. They were from Augusta.

In Aiken, witnesses said a man approached a woman, and they were yelling.

“I looked at her and I could see that she knew that … she knew that this was it for her,” said Gloria Smith, a witness. “She didn’t try to put up a fight no more. She didn’t – she just didn’t do nothing.”

The witness said she and others were at the gas pumps while the incident unfolded.

“I told everybody that we need to move back because it was like three other gentlemen and I said we need to move back because he has a gun in his pocket and it’s right at her stomach,” said Smith.

The man was asking her something.

“All she could say was, ‘I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” said Smith.

The witness heard the police sirens after she called 911.

“And then the next thing you know, I heard him say, ‘All right,’ and then he shot her,” said Smith.

An off-duty deputy was getting gas when he saw what was happening and tried to intervene.

“He was getting ready to run, but that gentleman caught him and they was tussling and gunshots were just going off – about 12 of them just going off, then all of a sudden, it stopped,” said Smith. “Then the next gunshot you heard was him shooting himself in the head.”

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“I’m emotionally all over the place,” said Smith. “I want to cry now, but I’m doing everything I can not to.”

The shooter died on the scene and the victim died at Aiken Regional Medical Center, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables.

They will be autopsied Wednesday in Newberry, according to Ables.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is handling the investigation.

In Augusta, 41-year-old Rebecca Williams was fatally shot Sunday night by her husband, Michael Williams, 43, who then killed himself, according to authorities. That incident happened around 9 p.m. at their home in the 1200 block of Holden Drive.

Both were pronounced dead at 9:50 p.m.

Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said autopsies have been scheduled.

The murder-suicides are among about 600 that happen every year in the U.S.

A 2022 analysis published by the FBI found 65% of murder-suicides involve intimate partners, and 81% happen in the home. When partners are involved, more than half of the killers have a history of domestic conflict.

Most murder-suicides involve one killer and one victim, but not always, according to the analysis. Children are sometimes victims, but most are adults.

Guns are the main weapon used.

Beyond that, there are other patterns, according to the FBI.

Murder-suicides are overwhelmingly carried out by white men, especially older ones. From 2003 to 2005, statistics show 91.4% of murder-suicides were committed by males, 97.6% were committed by people over age 19 and 77% were committed by people identified as white.

Experts aren’t sure whether the main goal is murder, suicide or something else, but these factors are often at play:

• A negative dynamic like abuse, infidelity or a perceived injustice in the relationship between the killer and victim.
• A sense of obligation toward the victim, like protecting them from the stigma or shame of a planned suicide or the hurtful consequences of something the killer has done.
• The killer’s intent to relieve the victim of suffering due to illness or disability.

As for how to prevent murder-suicides, the FBI has no clear answer. But one approach may be to take some cues from efforts to prevent suicide.

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