Henrietta Rhetta Green Belcher, 69, and her husband William Eddie Belcher were found dead in their Inman, South Carolina home on November 15, 2016, though authorities determined they had been killed about ten days earlier. Henrietta, a homemaker who had suffered a stroke that left her unable to communicate, had been shot twice; both she and her husband had been shot to death and their bodies remained in the house for more than a week before discovery after a relative requested a welfare check.

The investigation focused on the couple’s son, Stephen Linwood Belcher, who confessed and was arrested. Defense statements said William had been struggling with his wife’s declining health and had allegedly asked his son to end their lives; Henrietta, because of her condition, could not have consented. Stephen was initially charged with two counts of murder and later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, receiving a 10-year prison sentence.

Are there readers who knew the Belcher family or have information about what led up to the killings?