The bodies of seven people and a dog were found shot dead in a burning Alabama home overnight in what police are calling a ‘cold-blooded, targeted killing’.
Two black men, two white men, three white women and the dog were found inside the home in Valhermoso Springs near Huntsville late on Thursday.
Six of the seven victims have been identified by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office while officials work to identify the final person.
Authorities first identified Jeramy Wade Roberts, 31, of Athens, and William Zane Hodgin, 18, of Somerville, as victims.
They later named Tammy England Muzzey, 45, of Valhermoso Springs, Emily Brooke Payne, 21, of Valhermoso Springs, Roger Lee Jones Jr., 19, of Decatur and a 17-year-old female victim identified as Dakota Green by a relative. One male is still unidentified.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office on Friday identified Jeramy Wade Roberts (left) and William Zane Hodgin (right) as two of the seven victims shot dead in Valhermoso Springs, Alabama
Authorities identified Tammy England Muzzey (pictured) as one of three female victims to be found inside the burning Alabama home on Friday
Authorities say they received a 911 call at 11.30pm about gunshots and discovered a fire inside the home when they arrived.
Morgan County Sheriff’s deputies were able to put the fire out before firefighters arrived.
The bodies were discovered after the blaze was distinguished. It is not yet clear how big the fire was.
Emily Brooke Payne (left) and Roger Lee Jones Jr (right) were also identified as two of the seven victims killed during a shooting
Dakota Green (pictured) was identified by a relative and friends as the 17-year-old female victim in the Alabama shooting on Friday
Four men, three women and the dog were found by officers inside the home in Valhermoso Springs near Huntsville late on Thursday
Police have released the identities of six of the seven victims. Officers continued working at the ‘horrific scene’ this morning
‘It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time,’ Morgan County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Mike Swafford said.
‘We don’t have a motive at this time. We don’t have a determined suspect at this time. Investigators are following leads to piece together exactly what happened and who was involved.
‘We can say we don’t believe there is an active threat to anybody in the area.’
Sheriff’s deputies are familiar with the residence, having answered several calls there in the past few years for problems including drugs, robbery, trespassing and disturbances, he said.
‘Our theory right now is whoever did this, came in here for a reason, did it and left,’ he said.
Authorities are looking into the possibility of the killings being drug-related, Swafford said.
Video courtesy of WAAF
Investigators believed the gunman went to the home with the intention of shooting everyone inside, according to AL.com
Some of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities are still working to identify them, but some are believed to have lived in the home.
The bodies of seven people and a dog were found shot dead in a burning Alabama home overnight in what police are calling a ‘cold-blooded, targeted killing’
He added that some of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds.
‘Incredibly heinous, talking cold blooded,’ Swafford said.
‘In my 37 years as a paramedic, deputy coroner and coroner, this is the most major crime scene in Morgan County,’ Coroner Jeff Chunn said.
‘It is a horrific scene and to be able to process it will take some time,’ Morgan County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Mike Swafford said
Swafford told WAAY that authorities had responded to incidents at the home previously and had been called there as recently as last week.
‘This doesn’t happen in Morgan County. We had a triple homicide two weeks ago and I think that’s the first anyone can remember in 20 plus years so to have seven is substantial.’
Family and friends of some of the seven victims shared heartfelt tributes on Facebook.
Jennifer May Allison, a relative of Dakota Green, wrote on Facebook: ‘Dakota Green, my heart in soul is gone June 5,2020 rip my green bean u will be missed so bad it hurts so bad I love u Kota.’
Allison has created a fundraiser following Green’s death to cover funeral costs, with a goal of $2,000.
‘Rip beautiful I love you so much,’ a friend of Green’s wrote in a post. A video of Green and the friend spending time together from earlier this year was attached. ‘I’m gonna miss you so much.’
Friends of Dakota Green (pictured) shared touching messages about the teenager while a relative created a fundraiser to cover the unexpected funeral costs
Tammy England Muzzey (pictured) was a mother-of-four, according to a friends of Muzzey’s
Bobbie Jo Pincheon, a friend of Tammy England Muzzey, also created a fundraiser to help raise money for funeral costs, taking care of Muzzey’s four children and replacing items that were lost in the fire.
‘My home girl was gun down an murdered,’ wrote Pincheon. ‘She leaves behind 4 beautiful children who need all the love support an help they can get through these hard times ….’
A GoFundMe was created for Emily Brooke Payne and revealed that she had turned 21-years-old just two days before her dearth.
‘She just made it two days past 21 years old. Due to the circumstances, and with her young age, our family was never expecting for something like this to happen,’ the caption read.
‘We are all heart broken, and in complete shock. No one ever imagines something like this happening, especially to such large magnitude, in such a tiny town.’
Loves ones of Emily Brooke Payne revealed on GoFundMe that she died just two days after her 21st birthday
A relative of Roger Lee Jones Jr. (pictured) revealed he died on Facebook and shared a tribute on Friday afternoon
Meadow Hodgin: ‘Words can’t describe the pain I feel, you picked me up when no one else could, and you were my partner in crime ever since we were little’
The sister of William Zane Hodgin, Meadow Hodgin, shared a heartbreaking message Friday afternoon.
‘Words can’t describe the pain I feel, you picked me up when no one else could, and you were my partner in crime ever since we were little. I’m going to miss you so much big bro, fly high,’ she wrote.
Another relative of Hodgin’s wrote ‘Rest in power, brother. Until we meet again.’
A relative of Roger Lee Jones Jr. shared a series of pictures and recalled spending time with him before his death.
‘Man these was some good days rip lil bruh love you man,’ they wrote.
The case is under investigation by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.