Neighbors Share Chilling Account of Attempted Hopkins Co. Murder-Suicide
By: Kayla Moody
Updated: January 12, 2013
A Western Kentucky neighborhood is reeling after a shooting leaves one woman dead and her husband in the hospital. The Hopkins County Sheriff's Office believes Roberta Marks, 68, shot her husband David, 69, several times before turning the gun on herself.
It happened Friday morning on Forrest Acres Loop in Grapevine, Kentucky. Neighbors say the area is typically a quiet community. Many of them have more questions than answers as they replay the early morning scene.
The people who live along Forrest Acres Loop awoke to the familiar buzzing of their alarms and a sharp noise that resonated through the neighborhood.
"I heard the shots this morning but didn't really think anything of it cause you hear small .22 caliber shots going off, you know, all the time -- no big thing," says Mike Barton, who has lived in the neighborhood since he was young. When Barton backed out of his driveway, he realized something was wrong. Traffic is typically scarce on his street, but Friday morning it was filled with a brigade of law enforcement.
Barton says he didn't know what had happened until he talked to his neighbor, Jimmy Page, who shared a chilling account of what shattered the silence in the quiet neighborhood. Page was walking his dog, when he walked into the aftermath of a shooting involving David Marks and his wife, Roberta.
"I heard a shot fired over in this direction and I thought that was kinda peculiar this time of morning. I noticed [David] walking around the garage and I thought he was shooting something. Apparently, he was being shot at," says Page. "I come around [the corner] and his wife came across the street with a handgun and she said, 'I have shot David.'"
Page calls David Marks a close friend -- he's known Marks for 13 years. He says the incident weighs heavy on his and the community's hearts. "We're all distraught about this," says Page. "You hear about it in other communities, in other places, but you never realize it may come home to you one day."
Neighbors say what sent the couple over the edge is a true mystery among their community. "I've known them ever since I lived here in the community -- just a wonderful couple," says Page. "This is just something I can't piece together."
David Marks is reportedly in stable condition. Deputies say Roberta died during surgery.
It happened Friday morning on Forrest Acres Loop in Grapevine, Kentucky. Neighbors say the area is typically a quiet community. Many of them have more questions than answers as they replay the early morning scene.
The people who live along Forrest Acres Loop awoke to the familiar buzzing of their alarms and a sharp noise that resonated through the neighborhood.
"I heard the shots this morning but didn't really think anything of it cause you hear small .22 caliber shots going off, you know, all the time -- no big thing," says Mike Barton, who has lived in the neighborhood since he was young. When Barton backed out of his driveway, he realized something was wrong. Traffic is typically scarce on his street, but Friday morning it was filled with a brigade of law enforcement.
Barton says he didn't know what had happened until he talked to his neighbor, Jimmy Page, who shared a chilling account of what shattered the silence in the quiet neighborhood. Page was walking his dog, when he walked into the aftermath of a shooting involving David Marks and his wife, Roberta.
"I heard a shot fired over in this direction and I thought that was kinda peculiar this time of morning. I noticed [David] walking around the garage and I thought he was shooting something. Apparently, he was being shot at," says Page. "I come around [the corner] and his wife came across the street with a handgun and she said, 'I have shot David.'"
Page calls David Marks a close friend -- he's known Marks for 13 years. He says the incident weighs heavy on his and the community's hearts. "We're all distraught about this," says Page. "You hear about it in other communities, in other places, but you never realize it may come home to you one day."
Neighbors say what sent the couple over the edge is a true mystery among their community. "I've known them ever since I lived here in the community -- just a wonderful couple," says Page. "This is just something I can't piece together."
David Marks is reportedly in stable condition. Deputies say Roberta died during surgery.
