In the quiet, rural setting of Madison Township, Minnesota, a welfare check on a respected couple led to a grim discovery that shattered the community's sense of peace. On the morning of July 29, 2015, law enforcement officers entered the home of William and Shelley Walley to find a scene of tragedy. Inside the living room of their residence, the bodies of 78-year-old William Clenet Walley and his 69-year-old wife, Shelley Boone Walley, were found.
The ensuing investigation, a joint
effort between the Lac qui Parle County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, pieced together the final moments of the couple's lives. The evidence pointed to a murder-suicide. It was determined that William Walley used a shotgun to fatally shoot his wife before turning the weapon on himself. The bodies were transported to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies, which confirmed the investigators' preliminary findings.
With the conclusion of the investigation, authorities announced that William Walley was the sole individual responsible for the incident. There were no other suspects, and the case was officially closed. The community was left to grapple with the shocking loss of a couple they knew, a tragic end to a long life shared. Shelley Walley's remains were cremated and she was laid to rest at Mapleview Cemetery in Marion, Kentucky.
