In the small city of Barling, Arkansas, a quiet residential street became the scene of a heart-wrenching family tragedy on October 9, 2015. Giselle Pettycord, a 79-year-old woman, was found in her home with fatal injuries. Authorities were initially called to the residence for a welfare check, a routine call that would soon escalate into a grim discovery.
Inside the house, located near the corner of O Street and 6th Terrace, officers found both Pettycord and her 52-year-old son, Stephen
Hercher, in the living room. Both had sustained gunshot wounds. Pettycord was found with two gunshot wounds, and despite efforts to save her, she succumbed to her injuries while being transported to a local hospital. Hercher was found with a single gunshot wound to the head and was deceased at the scene.
The Barling Police Department, with assistance from the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, launched an immediate investigation into the deaths. The evidence uncovered at the scene led investigators to a somber conclusion: the incident was an apparent murder-suicide. It is believed that Hercher shot his mother before turning the gun on himself. As the primary suspect in Pettycord's death was also deceased, no arrests were made in the case. The bodies of both mother and son were sent to the state medical examiner's office for further examination to confirm the sequence of events. The community was left to grapple with the shocking loss and the painful circumstances that led to the tragic end of two lives.
