Four pairs of people found dead in October in separate incidents

[Courtesy of Shutterstock]

When Ocala police found the bodies of a couple dead in their home on Oct. 18, the tally of deaths in pairs in Marion County during the month rose to an unusual eight.

Since Oct. 3, there have been two incidents of murder-suicides, one instance of double homicide and another couple’s death investigated either by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office or the Ocala Police Department.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s latest annual crime report, in 2021 there was a total of 19 murders in Marion County. Within this month, these incidents alone of murder-suicides and deaths in pairs would exceed the 2021 average.

Oct. 3:

OPD investigators responded to Southeast 34th Terrace in relation to a report of a death. They found an elderly couple, Robert Fischer and a woman whose name has not been released, both deceased with gunshot wounds to the head, according to the case report.

Those close to the pair who spoke to the police said the woman had dementia and that Fischer was one of her caretakers. Fischer left a suicide note in the house before shooting the woman and then himself, authorities said.

The medical examiner ruled the woman’s cause of death as a homicide and Fischer’s cause of death as a suicide, according to the case report.

Oct. 15:

At about 11 a.m., MCSO detectives responded to a home on Southeast 52nd Avenue, Ocala, in Whispering Sands.

“When deputies arrived, they located a male and female both deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. The victims have been identified as 32-year-old Kevin Ray Russell and 60-year-old Sandy Kara Bobman,” according to an MCSO press release.

The incident was reported by a friend of the two victims, who went to the apartment to check on Bobman and Russell and found that they had been shot, according to the incident report.

The case was turned over to the MCSO Major Crimes unit, which is currently investigating the pair’s death as a double homicide.

MCSO asks for the public’s help in providing any information relevant to this case by calling Detective Joe Miller at (352) 369-6906 or making an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at (352)368-7867.

Oct. 16:

An MCSO deputy reported to Southwest 20th Lane to conduct a well-being check on a mother and son.

“When MCSO deputies arrived, they canvassed the home and noticed through the window what appeared to be a woman lying near a pool of blood,” according to an MCSO press release. “They entered the home and located 57-year-old Kathleen Callahan, deceased, and 26-year-old Birch Longfellow Crocker, deceased, with a firearm beside him.”

Crocker’s father, who lives in Connecticut, called authorities to check on his son after he did not call his grandmother on her birthday, according to the incident report.

The investigation revealed that this incident was a murder–suicide, officials said.

MCSO stated in a press release that this incident was unrelated to the double homicide that occurred just the day before in Whispering Sands.

Oct. 18:

OPD found a 47-year-old man and 45-year-old woman dead in their home on Southwest 34th Avenue Circle.

The identities of the man and woman have not been released, but authorities confirmed they were a couple.

The circumstances surrounding their deaths have not yet been released. The investigation is ongoing, according to OPD.