A 22-year-old Ohio State University student who was also in the Navy was found shot dead alongside the body of her boyfriend in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
The bodies of Heather Campbell and Kyle Lafferty, 25, were found in an apartment in the Taylor House complex in Columbus at 2:30pm on Sunday.
‘It appears that the male murdered the female and then turned a firearm on himself,’ Columbus police Sgt. Dave Sicilian told NBC 4.
‘[This was] a domestic related situation that resulted in these deaths.’
Dead: The bodies of Heather Campbell, 22, and Kyle Lafferty, 25 (both pictured left), were found on Sunday. Cops say Lafferty, a Merchant Marine Officer, shot her, then himself
One of Campbell’s friends had made the grim discovery when she went to check on her friend.
‘She’s the one who actually found them and then she notified us and patrol officers came out to the scene and we started our investigation from there,’ Sicilian said.
He added that someone in an adjoining apartment had heard something that sounded like an argument followed by a possible gunshot.
Campbell had worked as a Nuclear Engineer Mate in the Navy since August 2016, according to her Facebook page.
On July 7 she posted up a photograph of herself with Lafferty, along with four heart emojis.
Lafferty’s Facebook page features no photos of the pair together, but does have a number of him in his uniform, with friends and family.
He graduated the US Merchant Marine Academy, a prestigious naval engineering school, in June 2015 after signing up in 2013.
Since then, the Merchant Marine Officer had worked at Kirby Offshore Marine in New Jersey, according to his Facebook page.
Found: Campbell was a nuclear engineer mate in the Navy, according to her Facebook page. Her neighbors had heard arguing and a gunshot before their bodies were found
Neighbor Mwanza Wamulumba said the discovery of the two bodies was ‘nuts… completely nuts.’
‘That’s really, that’s even sad because they’re so young and they have so much so much more life to live so yeah that’s terrible to hear,’ Wamulumba said.
After news of the death emerged, Ohio State University released a statement.
‘We are heartbroken to learn about this tragedy. Heather Campbell was a psychology major from Strongsville,’ they wrote.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.
‘Counseling is available for those students in our community who need support by calling (614) 292-5766.’
Scene of the crime: The incident occurred here, at the the Taylor House complex in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon