On a summer day in 2016, the life of 46-year-old Mary Beth Preston was tragically cut short in what police have described as a murder-suicide. On June 28th, concerned co-workers of George Whetstone, 39, contacted authorities when he failed to show up for his job. When Maryland State Police troopers arrived at his home on Mount Savage Road in Corriganville, a community near Cresaptown, for a welfare check, they found a grim scene.
After receiving no answer at the door, the troopers
entered the residence. In an upstairs bedroom, they discovered the bodies of Preston and Whetstone. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head and were found lying on the bed with a handgun located between them.
Investigators from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit believe that Whetstone shot Preston before turning the gun on himself. While a definitive motive was not immediately released, authorities were looking into the possibility that domestic issues may have played a role in the tragic events. Their bodies were transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore for autopsies to officially confirm the cause and manner of their deaths.
Mary Beth Preston was born on April 7, 1970, in Frostburg. She was a mother and grandmother, and worked as the Health Services Manager for the HRDC Head Start Program and as a Licensed Practical Nurse at Frostburg Nursing and Rehab. She was actively involved in her community, volunteering for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
