Report: Couple were found side by side in bed with one woman cradling revolver.
By Joe Callahan
Staff writer
Published: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.
The two women who were found dead Saturday in their southwest Ocala home had spent the previous night together drinking and dancing at a local pub, according to a report made available on Monday.
The report also said that the bodies of Donna Marie Groves and Wendy White Kucia were found lying side by side in bed. Kucia, 51, cradled a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver while Groves, 43, had an aluminum takeout food container on her chest.
Each woman, described in the report and by friends as lovers, died of single gunshot wounds in what appears to be a murder-suicide, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office report.
It was 1:48 p.m. Saturday when Groves' stepfather, Jerry J. Deming, found the bodies at the Ocala home they shared, 7707 S.W. 81st St., in the Hibiscus Park subdivision off State Road 200.
Marion sheriff's spokesman Judge Cochran said detectives are awaiting autopsy results before issuing the official cause of deaths.
They are also awaiting results of ballistics tests to determine whether the gun found on Kucia's chest was in fact the weapon used in the shootings.
Michelle Everard, 39, who spent Friday night with the couple at Our Place Saloon, said her friends did not appear to be having any major relationship problems.
Everard, who doesn't drink, was the designated driver that night. She drove Kucia's car and dropped the women off at home at about 1 a.m. Saturday, she said Monday.
The couple told Everard to keep the car so that she could run errands Saturday morning. She was at Walmart when she received a call from detectives.
"I guess I was the last person to see them alive," said Everard, adding the couple had been dating for 12 years.
Groves and Kucia worked as a team in long-distance trucking. Groves was a U.S. Army veteran who served in the first Iraq war.
Groves' family members were too distraught to talk to the Star-Banner on Saturday.
However, they released a written statement about Groves.
It states that Groves was a former teacher at North Marion Middle School before joining the Army. She decided to "beat the recession by getting her CDL license," delivering goods from coast to coast.
The statement ended by saying, "She was the best friend, sister, and daughter anyone could ever pray for. We're going to miss our best friend."
Austin Miller contributed to this report. Contact Joe Callahan at joe.callahan@starbanner.com.
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