Brian Eugene Eley, 57, was fatally shot at his home on Beaumont Drive in Hendersonville, North Carolina, on the night of November 21, 2021. Born March 17, 1964, in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Brian had worked as a licensed electrician and was known as a cartoonist, storyteller and collector of geodes and minerals. He had lived in Cocoa Beach and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, before moving to Hendersonville.

Authorities say Garrett Robert Eley, 27, called 911 and admitted to shooting his uncle Brian and his father Stephen Robert Eley, 60. Deputies found both men fatally shot and two other family members, Garrett’s grandparents, locked in a bathroom; the grandparents were taken to hospital for evaluation and were not injured. Investigators reported Garrett used a high-powered rifle at close range and told the dispatcher there had been a long history of threats and conflict.

The sheriff’s office charged Garrett Robert Eley with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree kidnapping; the investigation remained ongoing. Did anyone in the Hendersonville area know Brian or the family and have information that could help investigators?