In a quiet neighborhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a welfare check on a Thursday morning in June of 2017 led to a grim discovery. Inside a home on Oak Lane, police found the bodies of 43-year-old Tessa Deuschle, her 24-year-old daughter Chelsea Kessel, and her 49-year-old ex-husband, Michael Deuschle. All three had been fatally shot, each with a single gunshot wound.
The preliminary investigation by the Oak Ridge Police Department suggested a murder-suicide.
It is believed that Michael Deuschle first shot Tessa and Chelsea at close range before turning the gun on himself. Authorities quickly assured the public that it was an isolated incident and there was no further danger to the community.
Tessa and Michael Deuschle were divorced but continued to live together to co-parent their daughter, Chelsea, who had Angelman syndrome and required 24-hour care. Neighbors on the tight-knit street were shocked by the news, describing the family as nice people and the events as entirely unexpected.
The investigation concluded that Michael Deuschle was the sole perpetrator in the deaths of Tessa and Chelsea, and as a result, no arrests were made. The case was closed as a murder-suicide.
