Grandfather Of South Carolina Murder-Suicide Suspect Found Shot Dead At Home

The grandfather of a murder-suicide suspect was found dead when the police arrived at his home to inform him about his son and grandson’s death.

According to Gaffney police, the deputies arrived at a home on Ezell Road in Chesnee, South Carolina, on Sunday to inform Howard Yelton about the death of his son and grandson, which was ruled as an apparent murder-suicide.

The officers found 69-year-old Yelton already dead inside the house. His death was ruled to be a homicide.

Coroner Rusty Clevenger told local media an autopsy was conducted Monday and the results revealed Yelton suffered "gunshot wounds to the head and incised wounds to head and neck."

According to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s office, a preliminary investigation found that Yelton was killed before his son and grandson were found dead May 15.

Yelton's son, 42-year-old Timothy, and grandson, 25-year-old Brandon, were found dead in a motel room at the Red Roof Inn located along New Painter Drive in Gaffney, Friday morning.

“Housekeeping employees attempted to enter the room for cleaning and found the night latch in place," said coroner Dennis Fowler in a news release. "When management gained access to the room, the subjects were found unresponsive. It appears they died within a short time of each other early Thursday afternoon. They checked in on May 9 according to motel records.”

Their death was being investigated as a murder-suicide. Brandon allegedly fatally shot his father, Timothy, on Thursday afternoon before killing himself.

“Evidence at the scene indicates the younger Yelton shot his father and then turned the gun on himself," Fowler said in a statement.

According to Fowler, the two men had been renting the motel room since May 9. The information received from the motel’s register confirmed the duo had checked in on the same date.

Lt. Kevin Bobo from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, who is investigating Howard’s death said in an email, "Our investigation remains active, and a motive for our incident is still undetermined, but we don’t feel there is any threat to the public."