VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – An apparent murder-suicide has left three people dead, including a brother and sister, and now, a family friend is sharing more about their lives.
Police said they were called to respond to a domestic disturbance on Gateway Place. They found two men and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds.
Detectives believe that 39-year-old Stephen Ericson shot his sister, 42-year-old Rebecca Ericson, as well as her fiancé, 38-year-old Jon Lafave, and then shot himself. All three died from their injuries. No word on any motive.
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3 dead in Virginia Beach; brother shoots sister, her significant other: Police
Trinity Rose Martin said all three lived in the house on Gateway Place along with Rebecca and Stephen’s parents. In fact, Trinity told News 3 she lived with them for a while last year, and they were like a second family to her.
She described Stephen: “He loved to cook. He was always in the kitchen and that’s what he was doing when I met him. He was baking a cake."
Trinity described Rebecca as a distant mom, but one who was always there for her daughter, Eliza, her good friend.
She explained, “I used to confide in Rebecca for anything and everything,” adding the family is now planning the funerals. She said her goal is to be there for the remaining family, and she doesn’t want the lives of Jon, Rebecca, or Stephen to be forgotten.
“I don’t want someone to pass away and not have that mark that we all leave on the world. I feel every one of them was important, and they definitely all left a mark on me,” Trinity said. "It saddens me. Just makes me feel like that they just had so much tension that they should have spoken about and taken a minute and actually, you know, got around the table again like they used to do all the time and just maybe reevaluate things."
