In March of 2021, the quiet community of Minden, Louisiana, was unsettled by the tragic death of 80-year-old Glenda Swain Toms. A concerned employee, who held a key to the couple's home, made the grim discovery after her husband, Carroll Howard Toms, failed to appear for work at his business on Shreveport Road. After unsuccessful attempts to reach him by phone, the employee went to their residence to check on them on a Tuesday morning.
Upon entering the home, the employee found both
Glenda and her 86-year-old husband deceased and immediately contacted emergency services. Investigators arriving at the scene determined that Glenda Swain Toms had been fatally shot by her husband, who then used the handgun to take his own life in an apparent murder-suicide.
The initial investigation by the Minden Police Chief pointed to Carroll Howard Toms as the sole individual responsible for Glenda's death, and therefore no other suspects were sought in connection with the incident. The case was not treated as a homicide investigation involving outside parties, and consequently, there were no arrests made. The bodies of both Glenda and her husband were sent for autopsies to formally confirm the cause of death.
