Belleview double shooting ruled a murder-suicide

A Marion County Sheriff’s Office vehicle is shown in this file image. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office detectives have ruled that the double shooting earlier this month in Belleview that left two people dead was in fact a murder-suicide.

On April 21, deputies responded to a scene at 3282 SE 132^nd Place to find Erica Brooks, 37, and James Marean, 60, dead from gunshot wounds inside a residence with the door open.

“Detectives have concluded that the landlord, James Maren shot his tenant, Erica Brooks, before shooting himself, indicating a murder-suicide investigation,” said MCSO spokesperson Zachary Moore.

Brooks had two children, ages 15 and 11, according to the GoFundMe set up by her mother, Carole Brooks. Carole Brooks said that she intends to raise the two children after the loss of her daughter.

“My daughter Erica Marie Brooks was born in Newark, Delaware where we lived until she was 11 years old. She grew up in Belleview, Florida and went to the Belleview Santos Elementary, Belleview Middle School and graduated from Belleview High School in 2005,” according to Brooks’ obituary.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the events leading up to the incident, Moore said.