Elwood E. Groff, 56, was a Bexar County Deputy Sheriff working off-duty as a security officer at his Midcrown Road apartment complex in San Antonio on the night of October 15, 1979. He went to a reported disturbance, met San Antonio police, and after they left told them he would handle things. The suspect returned and shot Groff in the chest, killing him instantly.

The suspect then shot and killed his girlfriend’s grandmother, wounded his girlfriend, and afterward died by suicide. Groff was a decorated military veteran who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War and had been with the sheriff’s department for 11 years; he was survived by a daughter, six sons, and his parents. Investigators reported the suspect had a history of violent behavior and that personal grievances and mental instability contributed to his actions; the case was closed after the suspect’s suicide.