Franklin County couple killed in murder-suicide

Chief Rick Lassiter said Gregory Hicks, 29, fatally shot Rose Marie Guzman and then himself in the Franklin Court apartments, at 119-A Second St., around 8 a.m.

"Mr. Hicks just basically, what we think, just lost it," Lassiter said. 

Guzman, 24, was staying with a friend at the apartment. The friend, whose name was not released, was there at the time of the shooting but not harmed. 

It wasn't clear if the couple's two young children were present during the shooting, but they weren't physically harmed, Lassiter said. They are staying with a relative.

Lassiter said the couple, who were on-and-off-again, had a history of domestic violence. 

The night before her death, Guzman reported to police that Hicks had assaulted her at apartment, authorities said. An arrest warrant was issued for Hicks but police could not locate him.

Hicks was convicted in August of assaulting Guzman, Lassiter said. According to an arrest warrant, Hicks punched Guzman in the face and said he would come back to kill her. 

On Friday, Franklin County sheriff's officials said Brandon Alexander Teasley, 21, of Bunn, shot Brittany Rochelle Williams, 21, of Louisburg, after the couple got into an argument at their home. He then turned the gun on himself. Williams survived but Teasley died at WakeMed Hospital.

Lassiter said these types of crimes happen too often around the holidays.

“The holidays bring about family situations, family issues,” he said. “We can have some very tragic situations.”