Mary White, 81, a Black/African American woman from Melbourne, Florida, died on July 23, 2025, after a domestic shooting in West Melbourne. According to local reports and funeral notices, the evening turned violent inside the home she shared with her husband, the Rev. George White, leaving family and neighbors reeling.
Investigators said the violence began around 8 p.m., when Mary White, 81, was shot multiple times inside the residence. Her husband, George White, 83, fled to a
neighbor’s home seeking help, but the gunman followed, fatally shooting him there and injuring a 25-year-old neighbor in the process. Deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and West Melbourne police flooded the neighborhood near Washington Street and Milwaukee Avenue as the search unfolded.
Authorities identified the suspect as the couple’s grandson, Jeremyah Campbell, 22, who had recently come from Texas. He was arrested shortly after the attack and booked into the Brevard County Jail, where he is being held without bond on murder charges in the deaths of George White, 83, and Mary White, 81, and additional charges related to the wounded neighbor. An arrest affidavit later quoted statements in which the suspect allegedly referenced divine instruction, details that prosecutors say underscore the abrupt and senseless nature of the killings.
In the days that followed, family, friends, and congregants remembered Mary White, 81, as a devoted wife and matriarch whose life centered on faith and service. Obituaries described her long marriage to the Rev. Dr. George H. White and noted services planned by Buggs Funeral Home and D.A. Boyd & Sons, memorializing the couple whose lives were intertwined in ministry and community.
The investigation into motive continues as the case proceeds through the courts, but authorities have made clear that a suspect is in custody: Jeremyah Campbell, 22, arrested in the immediate aftermath and charged in the killings of his grandparents, including Mary White, 81.
