In what was described as a tragic case of domestic violence, 46-year-old Clara Lisa Morgan-Hester of Chesterfield, Virginia, was killed on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The grim discovery was made after firefighters responded to a house fire at her residence in the 2000 block of Castle Glen Court late in the evening.
Inside the burning home, authorities found the bodies of Morgan-Hester and her 50-year-old husband, Walter M. Hester Jr. Investigators determined that Walter Hester Jr. shot his wife and then set multiple fires within their two-story house. After setting the fires, he turned the handgun on himself in a murder-suicide. The couple was reportedly experiencing marital problems, and family members indicated that one of them had discussed leaving the other, which is believed to have precipitated the violent events. Police found no prior documented history of domestic violence at the home.
Clara Morgan-Hester was a mother, leaving behind her son, Walter 'Tree' Hester III. At the time of the incident, their teenage son was not at home and was later placed in the care of relatives. She was remembered as a woman of substance and grace who was active in her church, New Life Outreach International, where she served as an elder. She was employed as an Officer on the Portfolio Client Strategy Team at Sun Trust Mortgage, Inc. in Richmond.
