In the quiet, rural community of Mountain Home, Arkansas, the life of Terry Clyde Mills, a 57-year-old male, came to a tragic end on Sunday, July 26, 2015. Concerns for his welfare first prompted a visit from Baxter County Sheriff's deputies to his home in the early morning hours. They found Mills on his front porch and spoke with him for several minutes before leaving.
However, a second, more alarming call from a family member who believed there had been a struggle inside the residence brought the deputies back to the scene.
Upon their return, a grim discovery was made inside the house. Both Terry Mills and his live-in girlfriend, 47-year-old Sandra Christine Douglas, were found deceased, each having sustained fatal gunshot wounds. The initial investigation by the Baxter County Sheriff's Office pointed towards a possible murder-suicide. This theory was supported by evidence collected at the home, which included a firearm, spent casings, and a suicide note left by Mills.
A neighbor reported hearing several gunshots in the vicinity of the couple's home on the evening of their deaths. The bodies of both Mills and Douglas were sent to the Arkansas State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies to officially determine the cause and manner of their deaths. The investigation, based on the information and evidence gathered at the scene, was treated as a murder-suicide, and as such, no arrests were made and no other suspects were sought in connection with the tragic incident that shook the small community.
