A Minnesota community is mourning the deaths of a 43-year-old nurse and her two adult sons in a suspected double murder-suicide, police said.
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Jamie Lee Charles, 43, and her sons Jaymison Samuel Shaw, 22, and William Samuel Shaw Jr., 19, were found dead Sunday at their townhouse in Inver Grove Heights during a welfare check, according to police.
Preliminary findings indicate the incident was a double murder-suicide, Inver Grove Heights Police Chief Melissa Chiodo said. Investigators have identified Jaymison as the suspect, adding that the incident appeared to have been contained within the residence.
Police have not disclosed how the three died or what prompted the welfare check. Police have not announced a possible motive.
Charles had worked as a nurse with the Minneapolis VA Health Care System for nine years. Just days before her death, she shared a photo from the Minnesota State Fair with Fox 9 chief meteorologist Ian Leonard.
On Aug. 16, she had marked the anniversary of a serious health crisis in a Facebook post, writing that a year earlier she had been “laying in a hospital dying.”
“I didn’t understand how with a blink of an eye my life got flipped upside down,” she wrote, thanking her family and friends for supporting her through her recovery.
Charles frequently celebrated her sons on social media. Jaymison had turned 22 in June, while William, known as Willie, graduated high school last year and played basketball for Simley High School.
Family and friends gathered for a vigil Monday to remember the three. Attendees wore T-shirts bearing the words “Long live Jamie & Willie,” according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“There are no words that can truly express the pain of losing three precious lives,” Charles’ niece Polly Morgan said in a fundraiser, describing the three as people who brought “love, joy, and memories” to their family and community.
Family members also urged people to take mental health concerns seriously in the wake of the tragedy.
“Do not, absolutely do not, play with mental health,” great-aunt Ozell Shaw said, according to the Pioneer Press, urging people to seek help when someone shows warning signs.
A GoFundMe has been launched to help the family with funeral and memorial expenses.
