Richard Brian Suttles, who was shot by his aunt Mary Ann Holder died on Friday, bringing the death toll from last weekend massacre outside in Guilford, North Carolina, to six, including the shooter.
Richard Brian Suttles, 17, who had been shot on Sunday along with four other minors and one adult by his aunt Mary Ann Holder, died shortly before 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said.
Along with Richard Brian Suttles, Mary Ann Holder killed her two sons, eight-year-old niece, and the 15-year-old girlfriend of one of her sons before killing herself.
Mary Ann Holder, 36, also shot her married lover, Randall Lamb, in the shoulder, and police say he’s expected to recover, the Associated Press reports.
She had been having an affair with Randall Lamb, 40, for almost 4 years, but it was coming to an end after months of bitter accusations between her, Lamb and his wife, including allegations of stalking and harassment.
Mary Ann Holder shot Randall Lamb on Sunday morning at a community college parking lot, and then drove away to pick up her son, 14-year-old Zachary Smith.
Within a half-hour, a sheriff’s deputy found Mary Ann Holder dead inside her SUV with a gun in her lap and her son mortally wounded in the back seat.
Police went to her home in the Pleasant Grove community south of Greensboro and found her son, 17-year-old Robert Dylan Smith, dead.
Her newphew, Richard Brian Suttles, 17, her son girfriend, Makayla Leigh Woods, 15, and her niece, Hannaleigh Suttles, 8, were all suffering from wounds that would prove to be fatal.
Along with Richard Brian Suttles, Mary Ann Holder killed her two sons, eight-year-old niece, and the 15-year-old girlfriend of one of her sons before killing herself
Hannaleigh Suttles died on Monday. She was followed by Mary Ann Holder son Zachary Smith a day later and Makalaya Leigh Woods on Wednesday.
The victims at Mary Ann Holder’s home appeared to have been shot while they slept in a bedroom and the living room, according to Chief Deputy, Col. Randy Powers. The woman left two notes taking responsibility for the killings.
Police officers found two handguns inside the vehicle, including one in Mary Ann Holder’s lap.
Police are continuing to investigate the case. An autopsy has been performed on Mary Ann Holder and police are waiting for the results of toxicology tests, but Col. Randy Powers said it initially appears there were no signs of drug use.
Mary Ann Holder, Randall Lamb and his wife had spent months trading accusations of stalking and harassment in court documents. Randall Lamb’s wife had recently threatened to file an alienation of affection lawsuit against Holder, investigators said.
Police are investigating a $10,000 cheque made out to Randall Lamb’s wife that Mary Ann Holder gave him the day before the shootings, according to an application for a search warrant obtained by The News & Record of Greensboro.
Police say the cheque may have been for an out-of-court settlement of some kind.
Despite that, and despite two notes left by Mary Ann Holder taking responsibility for the shootings, police say a definite motive is not yet clear.
“This will be the $64,000 question, because we don’t have anyone alive who can answer it,” Col. Randy Powers said.
“A couple of theories have gone up in the air, but we really don’t know yet.”
Mary Ann Holder reportedly had custody of her nephew and niece after their mother died.
Mary Ann Holder, a jilted lover from Guilford, North Carolina, shot her former boyfriend and five other people before killing herself, as was revealed by the man’s wife to 911 operators.
Jennifer Lamb, whose husband Randall Lamb, 40, was blasted in the shoulder by Mary Ann Holder, 36, after he ended their tryst, admitted to 911 operators that her spouse had been having an affair.
Jennifer Lamb, who had reportedly filed a restraining order against Mary Ann Holder in February after alleging that she would call,text and send nude photos of herself to Jennifer Lamb, told operators: “I don’t know exactly what happened, but my husband has been shot.
“He’s on his way… He’s getting ready to – umm… he just called me and said he was on the highway and that he had been shot.
“He was at – I don’t know for sure… I think he was at his work.
“And this woman who he had had an affair with… she was there when he got there and she shot him.”
Mary Ann Holder, a jilted lover from Guilford, North Carolina, shot her former boyfriend and five other people before killing herself
Mary Ann Holder went on to shoot her sons Robert Dylan Smith 17, and Zachary Smith, 14, in the head, instantly killing the eldest, before firing at Robert’s girlfriend, Makayla Woods, 15, and killing her niece, Hannaleigh Suttles, 8.
The woman also injured her her 17-year-old nephew, Richard Suttles during the rampage on Sunday.
Finally, in the final twist of her murderous rampage, Mary Ann Holder turned the gun on herself and committed suicide.
“We’ve got death. We’ve got drama. We’ve got a situation basically no one could ever imagine,” Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said yesterday.
While Sheriff BJ Barnes expanded upon the grisly details, he called it “one of the worst situations I’ve seen in my 30 years in law enforcement”.
Mary Ann Holder left behind two notes taking responsibility for the shootings.
Sheriff BJ Barnes said she apologized for the pain she caused.
But she also said she felt “wronged”.
The tragedy began to unfold shortly before 9:00 a.m. Sunday when Mary Ann Holder met her onetime boyfriend Randall Lamb in the parking lot of the Guilford Technical Community College Aviation Centre.
They spoke briefly before she shot at him multiple times, before a bullet struck him in the shoulder, investigators said.
Randall Lamb is in stable condition.
Randall Lamb’s wife called 911, saying her husband had been shot, prompting police officers to being a search for Mary Ann Holder.
Deputies went to Mary Ann Holder’s one-level brick residence on nearby Cocoa Drive in Pleasant Garden around 9:30 a.m.
They were stationed outside her home, but a deputy spotted her car driving down the street about an hour later.
Police officer said he saw a “puff of smoke” in the car and found Mary Ann Holder dead and her son Zachary shot in the head. The boy remains in critical condition.
Deputies recovered two handguns inside the vehicle, one in Mary Ann Holder’s lap, the sheriff said.
The officers then went into her home and discovered her son Robert dead.
Robert Dylan Smith’s girlfriend, Makayla Woods was injured along with Mary Ann Holder’s niece, eight-year-old Hannaleigh Suttles, and her 17-year-old nephew, Richard Suttles.
Mary Ann Holder reportedly had custody of her nephew and niece after their mother died.
Hannahleigh Suttles died on Monday of her injuries. The other two remain in critical condition.
Investigators were trying to unravel the violent chain of events and understand why Mary Ann Holder took out her rage on children.
Sheriff BJ Barnes said: “They were obviously shot for the purpose of killing them. You can call it an execution, you can call it a shooting, you can call it whatever you want. The result is the same. We may never know exactly what her thoughts were and why.”
Authorities said Monday they were still trying to determine when the victims in Mary Ann Holder’s home were shot and whether it happened before or after she met with Randall Lamb.
