A 45-year-old woman was found dead inside her Rocky Mount garage Friday morning.

Julie Bowling was found dead by some of her coworkers about 7:30 a.m. Her family said she had been shot to death.

"She was late for work, so I guess they were worried about it, so one of the girls rode over here to check on her," said Bowling's brother-in-law Shaun Bunn. "Of course, she wouldn't answer her phone or the house phone, and they found her in the garage."

Bunn said Bowling worked at Nash General Hospital for years as a radiation oncology therapist.

"Her husband is in Florida on a scuba diving trip," said Bunn. "He was told about it shortly after it happened. He's flying back now."

Nash County Sheriff Dick Jenkins said Bowling's husband Mark returned from South Florida Friday night and went to the sheriff's office to speak to investigators.

The Bowling family owns Bowling's Funeral Homes, and the couple was well known throughout the community. They did not have any children.

Investigators spent Friday collecting evidence and conducting interviews.

"Right now, we don't have a motive, don't really have any suspects," said Jenkins. "We're looking into leads that we get hoping to find out something from that."

Jenkins told WRAL that he didn't believe the homicide was a random act of violence. He said there was no sign of forced entry and nothing was stolen.

Neighbors of the Bowlings said they were stunned.

"Kind of shocking. It's a quiet neighborhood and everyone keeps to themselves. You don't expect to hear about something like this in your own backyard," said neighbor Hal Holloman.

Family members said they were also stunned, and were left looking for answers.

"We had all these plans for Christmas together," Bunn said. "We don't know what we're going to do now."

Family members said Bowling and her husband had just moved into the house a few months ago.