Pelion, SC: Pelion murder-suicide: Investigators searching for answers

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com
Lexington County Sheriff’s investigators are trying to figure out what led a Pelion man to kill his wife Wednesday morning and then turn the shotgun on himself.
Victoria Williamson Tindall, 28, died from a 12-gauge shotgun wound to the head, Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman said. Brian Christopher Tindall, 33, died from a self-inflicted wound to his head, Harman said.
Brian Tindall had moved out of the couple’s Track Road home about three weeks ago but had spent the night at the house before the shooting, said Maj. John Allard, a sheriff’s department spokesman. Investigators are continuing to search for answers on why he moved out of the house.
Preliminary evidence indicates Brian Tindall had planned to shoot his estranged wife Wednesday morning although Allard would not release information about what led police to that conclusion.
The couple had five children, who lived at the home. Four of the children, ages 7 to 11, had been taken to school and were not home, Allard said.
A 3-year-old girl was in another room watching television and eating cereal when the shootings took place and did not witness them, Allard said.
Shortly before 8 a.m., Brian Tindall called his mother and told her he had killed his estranged wife, Allard said. He then told his mother he planned to kill himself and asked her to come get the 3-year-old child.
"He was very matter of fact with her," Allard said.
It was a brief conversation, and his mother tried to talk him out of it, Allard said. The mother arrived at the house within minutes after the call, but it was too late. She and her husband removed the 3-year-old, who was still watching television, from the house and waited for police, he said.
When police arrived, they found Brian Tindall lying in a doorway near the kitchen with a 12-gauge shotgun near his body. His wife's body was on the kitchen floor.
The shotgun belonged to Tindall, who had received it as a gift a number of years ago, Allard said.
Since the shooting, the children have been taken in by various relatives.The 3-year-old and 7-year-old were the Tindalls’ children together, Allard said. Ten-year-old twins and an 11-year-old were from previous relationships, but Allard did not know which of the Tindalls were the parents for those children.
Brian Tindall worked at Shumpert’s IGA grocery store in Pelion, Allard said.
Victoria Tindall was a stay-at-home mother who designed and sewed children’s clothes to earn extra money, according to her postings on Facebook and MySpace.
At Shumpert’s store, employees were saddened and confused by the shooting, said Stephen Simmons, the store manager. Tindall was an assistant manager and had worked at the store for more than five years, he said.
"I still don’t understand quite what happened," Simmons said. "We’re still in shock right here right now."
The Tindalls’ case is the second murder-suicide in a week in the Midlands.
Friday, Alysha Ziolkowski, 31, shot Oppie Lee Jackson, 33, in the head and then shot herself while sitting in a car at a Percival Road gas station. Both Gilbert residents died from their wounds at a local hospital.