On January 15, 2023, at about 5:15 p.m., Mooresville Police responded to a report from 39-year-old Derik Thomas Trocke that he had shot his wife, 39-year-old Annalene Julia Trocke, at the couple’s home on Laurel Glen Drive in the Cherry Grove subdivision of Mooresville, North Carolina. Officers found Annalene deceased from a gunshot wound. The couple’s four children, ages between 1 and 13 years, were in the home at the time.

Detectives processed the scene, conducted interviews and arrested Derik Trocke; he was charged with first-degree murder and held without bond at the Iredell County Detention Center. In his first court appearance he requested a court-appointed attorney, saying he was unemployed and could not afford counsel. The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

If anyone knew the Trocke family or has information about events leading up to January 15, 2023, please share details with the investigators.