Authorities investigate Forsyth County couple's deaths

A Forsyth County man committed suicide in Raleigh early Friday, hours after his wife was found shot to death at the family's home, authorities said.

Forsyth County deputies found Pamela Burgess Hurlocker, 42, dead of an apparent gunshot wound at 3495 Spainhour Mill Road in Tobaccoville, just after 11 p.m. Thursday.

They alerted Raleigh police, who arrived at 1516 Basewood Drive just as Alan Claude Hurlocker and 7-year-old daughter pulled up. 

Hurlocker and his daughter got out of the vehicle, an officer spoke to him, then the girl went in the house, which is owned by Hurlocker's father. As police watched, Hurlocker took out a handgun and shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The child is in the custody of relatives.

Alan Hurlocker's father, Claude Hurlocker, told WRAL News that the only explanation he could come up with for what happened last night was that his son snapped. He declined questions about the relationship between the couple.

Christopher Tricoli, a neighbor, said of the elder Hurlocker, "It's a tragedy. Family is important to everybody, and I would imagine he's dealing with a hard time right now." 

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Department is continuing to investigate the deaths, and the Raleigh Police Department is assisting on the case.