Gail Lanier, 50, of Snow Hill, North Carolina, died at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville on March 23, 2015. Her obituary lists sons Alexander Lanier Jr. of Kinston and Eric Lanier of Bridgeton, New Jersey, parents Barbara Ray Jones and John Robert Jones, and siblings; services were at Covenant of Faith Church with burial at Browntown Community Cemetery.

According to reports, deputies responded on the morning of January 9, 2024, to a routine assist-to-EMS call at a residence on Bella Vista Drive and observed evidence of an assault. The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation became involved. Donald Lanier, 47, a school counselor from Edgecombe County, was arrested and charged with assault and driving while impaired; two days after that reported assault the victim identified as Gail Lanier died at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville. After further investigation, Donald Lanier was charged with murder.

What details about the January 9 incident or the relationship between the people involved might help clarify what happened?