Four die in Union Parish murder/suicide

SPEARSVILLE — Four people are dead after a reported early Saturday morning domestic argument ended in an indescribable scene inside a residence in the Spearsville area of Union Parish.

Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates said a mother, daughter and a friend of the deceased daughter were killed by blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun. The shooter of the three then retrieved a 30-06 rifle and shot himself, the sheriff said.

Another teenage daughter of the deceased mother escaped through a window, ran to a neighbor’s house and called the sheriff’s office at 1:40 a.m.

Those found dead inside the mobile home were the mother, Casey Colvin, 40; her daughter, Billie Beaird, 18; and the daughter’s friend, Lela Platt, 17.

Gates said the shooter’s name will not be released until next of kin are notified. Gates said the 48-year-old man is originally from Alabama.

The sheriff said when the first deputies arrived on the scene they heard the wife screaming for help. “Deputies then made entry into the house and Pafford (Ambulance) was taking that victim to the hospital, but she died en route,” Gates said. “The 18-year-old was found in the hallway, and her friend was found in a bathroom.”

According to the sheriff, the mother had locked herself inside a bedroom and Platt had locked herself up in the bathroom. He said the shooter used the shotgun to blast the doors open and then shot the victims.

The victims were sent to Little Rock, Ark., where autopsies will be performed.

Gates said the Spearsville Fire Department, Union Parish Sheriff’s Reserve Unit and Farmerville police all helped at the scene.

The sheriff said the incident is still under investigation.