A couple found dead inside the bedroom of their Vernon Parish home are believed to have been killed in an apparent murder-suicide incident, authorities said.

Rebecca Freeney, 36, and Shawn Raines, 49, were found deceased inside their Anacoco home Monday afternoon. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, and the weapon believed to have been used on both victims was recovered from Raines’ person, authorities said.

Sheriff Sam Craft said a thorough examination of the scene by detectives and deputy coroners determined that Freeney had been killed a short time before Raines. Detectives also found the bedroom door where the bodies were found had been locked from the inside.

“Detectives and Deputy Coroners believe that Raines fatally shot Rebecca Freeney prior to turning the gun on himself,” Craft said.

Authorities told the American Press there had been a previous incident of domestic violence involving the couple in 2020.

Detectives first responded to the residence on Maddox Road at about 3:20 that afternoon after a brother of Raines reported he had not spoken with his brother in a few days and had gone to the house to check on him.

The brother told deputies that when he arrived at the home, the couple’s three children, ages 14, 13, and 11, were inside the residence. The children said they had spent part of the weekend away at a friend’s house, and that they had not been able to locate their parents when they returned.

The brother told detectives he entered the home and found the bedroom door locked, and that he forced entry into the room where he found Raines deceased. That was when the brother told deputies he backed out of the home and called 9-1-1.

Craft said when deputies arrived, the children were immediately removed from the scene and transported to a relative’s home.