Newlyweds are dead, and their kids are now left without parents. While the full picture has yet to emerge, we're learning more about the deaths of three people in Grand Island.
Photos on a wedding site show Rex and Emily Goodell tied the knot in March and were looking forward to a ceremony with family and friends this fall. But prosecutors say Rex, 26, shot Emily, 23, and another man before dying by suicide.
Hall County Attorney Marty Klein says Hayes Morgheim, 23, was shot at his parents home and that Rex had come there from Lincoln to contact Emily.
A search warrant filed by the Grand Island Police Department said police were dispatched for a possible burglary at the home. A police spokesman said they've turned over the case and can't comment.
Additionally, a search warrant shows police found a 9-millimeter handgun and a magazine with bullets plus 11 casings along with bullet fragments. It appears several shots were fired near the front door and living room.
The search warrant shows police also confiscated several phones as well as other evidence from the scene.
We reviewed more court records and also reached out to both Lincoln and Grand Island police, finding no protection orders and no history of domestic violence. Advocates for victims say help is available before it reaches this point.
“Slow down, take a pause, help you think through some of this through,” said Shelby Landell of Willow Rising.
“Sometimes they'll come in and they're not sure if a relationship is a domestic violence relationship, so we help them assess that and what that looks like in their situation and help them move forward,” said Teshawna Sawyer, associate director of Willow Rising.
Staff members at this local crisis center say 1 in 4 women have been victims, and firearms increase the risk.
“Adding a gun increases the likelihood of fatality by 500 percent,” Sawyer said.
Three months after Angela Adams was beaten to death in her Marquette home, Willow Rising now sees another homicide in their four-county area.
Landell said, “We can help with protection orders, safety planning, we also have a safe house if you need a safe place to stay and anything you feel would help in your safety, we can guide you through that.”
The Hall County Attorney tells us they're reviewing digital evidence as they seek to fill in the blanks and determine the motive. Marty Klein tells us the couple's kids were not part of this, although they will live with the consequences.
72 days after a courthouse wedding and 100 miles from home, their lives came to an end in northwest Grand Island.
In Klein’s words, it is “such an incredibly sad situation” and remains under investigation.