A look at Kimberly Butts' profile on Facebook shows a happy
and loving family, and apparently the strong bond of Georgia's 39-year-old
mother with her 15-year-old son, Caleb, who had Down syndrome.
In a picture of Butts published last week, Caleb is seen smiling
and using his hands to sign "I love you".
But the scene in the isolated house of the family near Saint
George contrasts horribly with these happy images. Responding to a 911 call
Tuesday morning, made by Butts' father, Mike Wilson, investigators found the
bodies of Butts and Caleb lying side by side on a bed in the master bedroom.
The body of Butts' mother, Ban Mirkland, sixty four, lay in the hallway.
During the call, Wilson told a Charlton County 911 operator
that he smells a strong gas smell and sees several burners lit. "I need
cops, detectives and a CSI," he said. "There are three people dead in
my house."
Although the full report of a coroner will not be available
for several months, "the evidence currently shows that Kimberly Gayle
Butts took the life of Caleb Logan Butts and Jan Elizabeth Kirkland before
taking her own life," says a statement from the Georgia Bureau. of
Investigations
The ballistic and toxicological tests are pending.
Kirkland was found with a single bullet wound, while Caleb had
multiple shots to the chest and Butts had a bullet wound to his left temple,
with a pink semi-automatic pistol over his left shoulder, the statement said.
Butts' old friend, Shawna Tomlinson, tells PEOPLE that Butts
had dealt with the back pain of a degenerative disc and was approved to undergo
surgery. On the eve of the fatal shootings, Butts had a confrontation with a
man at McDonald's who accused her of jumping on the line and then became very
belligerent, says Tomlinson.
Tomlinson also says that Butts kept the weapon used in the
murders under his pillow because of a recent series of robberies.
Relative Mandy Dobbs tells PEOPLE: "We all felt thrusted,
as if it were not real." Dobbs adds: "She always seemed a very happy
person and he always seemed like a happy child who loved to have fun."
Dobbs notes that Butts, Caleb and Kirkland had monthly
outings for family dinners, including one last week at a Texas Roadhouse
restaurant, which Dobbs attended. At that dinner, Butts' eldest son appeared on
a surprise visit from his deployment of the United States Navy. Although Dobbs
says that Butts had financial problems and was unemployed, Dobbs says that
nothing seemed to be wrong at that dinner and that Butts was delighted to see
Chandler.
"That's what makes it look a little more unreal,"
says Dobbs.
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