On the morning of December 1, 2019, 63-year-old Paula S. Deeter was found shot to death in her bedroom at the family home on Fallow Brook Road in Sugarloaf Township, Pennsylvania. She had been struck nearly a dozen times by fire from two different firearms. Neighbors and relatives remembered her as someone who enjoyed reading, fishing, and family time.

Her husband of more than 20 years, 69-year-old John Deeter, placed the 911 call and at first reported a home invasion and that his wife was bleeding from her mouth. When troopers arrived, Paula was deceased. John’s account changed during questioning; he later admitted the home invasion story was false and said he had been aware Paula was asleep when he shot her seven to eight times. He was arrested and charged with criminal homicide and held in the Columbia County jail, but he died on March 10, 2020, before the case reached a legal conclusion.