An Indiana
anesthesiologist shot dead his wife minutes after the last guest left
their wedding party early on Sunday morning after an alleged alcohol
fueled argument over a pre-nuptial agreement turned tragic.
Dr.
George 'Scott' Samson, 54, is said to have told his new wife, Kelly
Ecker, 50, that she would 'never get her hands on his money' during the
wedding reception at the Ohio Building in Terre Haute on Saturday
evening.
According
to witnesses, the argument became increasingly bitter when the wedding
after-party moved to Samson and Ecker's mansion, with guests deciding to
leave at 1.17am on Sunday morning as the fighting escalated.
Tragedy: George 'Scott' Samson and
Kelly Ecker married on Saturday evening and returned to Samson's Terre
Haute home for their wedding party
Shock:
Kelly Ecker with her friend's Charlene Bloodworth (left) and Britany
Wright (right). The pictures are believed to show Kelly in her wedding
dress on Saturday eveninf
Three
minutes after the final guest departed, Ecker, who is a nurse at the
same hospital as Samson, made the first of three terrified 911 calls
claiming her husband was going to kill her.
The
first two frantic calls to the dispatcher ended abruptly, but moments
later Ecker phoned back, her trembling voice pleading for help, before a
volley of gunshots rang out and the phone line cut.
Less
than half-an-hour later, officers who who responded to the couple's
Terre Haute home discovered the body of Ecker, fatally shot in the head
and neck and in the basement the body of Samson, who had taken his own
life with a 45-caliber semi automatic pistol.
According to Advance Indiana,
the reception had been changed from the newlywed's home to the Ohio
Building at the last minute and the marquee tent set up in their garden
still hauntingly sits outside their home.
Police
said that Samson shot his wife multiple times with a 40-caliber handgun
and records show that the Terre Haute doctor held a Federal Firearms
License, which effectively enabled him to trade and sell weapons from
his property - in a manner similar to a gun store owner.
Indeed,
according to Advance Indiana, police recovered a literal arsenal of
weapons from the home, including assault rifles, hand guns and several
hundred rounds of ammunition.
'They had just gotten married and something went terribly wrong,' said Vigo County Coroner, Dr. Susan Amos.
'He shot her and then shot himself. We are still in a second autopsy to confirm that.'
Witnesses told the IndyStar that the couple had argued at the end of their reception and the final guest left anesthesiologist Samson's home at 1.17am.
Frantic
cries for help: Kelly Ecker phoned 911 in the early hours of Sunday
morning to plead for help from her husband who she claimed was trying to
kill her
Friends: Kelly Ecker poses with one of her co-workers before her wedding to George 'Scott' Samson on Saturday
Scene:
George 'Scott' Samson and Ecker's 10-year-old son (left). Ecker posted
the picture of Samson's home to Facebook in July commenting that she was
delighted to be moving in with her son. She was found dead in his
bedroom at the property. The 10-year-old was unharmed
Ecker, a nurse at Union Hospital, phoned 911 at 1.20am after witnesses said their argument about money spiraled out of control.
'The
investigation has revealed that there was an verbal argument between
the couple toward the end of the reception, which carried over to the
after party at the couples' home,' said Vigo County Chief Deputy Sheriff
Clark Cottom in an email to the IndyStar.
'Shortly
after the last guest left at around 1:17 a.m., Kelly Ecker Samson
called 911 reporting that her husband had threatened to kill her.
'There were a total of three very brief 911 calls, which in the first two the caller disconnected.'
Cottom
said that Ekcer was found in the bedroom her 10-year-old son from a
previous relationship slept in, while Samson shot himself once in the
head with a registered gun.
Haunting: The marquee tent erected in the garden of Samson's home still stands the day after the tragic murder suicide
'Deputies did find the female victim inside the child's bedroom deceased,' said Cottom to WISHTV.
Cottom
said that Ekcer's son and an elderly couple believed to be Samson's
parents were inside the home at the time of the shooting, but were not
harmed and escorted out by police when they arrived.
'We
received information from the elderly male that the female's husband
Scott Samson had retreated to the basement,' said Cottom to WISHTV.
Samson,
54, is a doctor at Union Hospital in Taure Haute and one witness told
WISHTV that guests left the wedding party because of the argument that
the newlyweds were having.
'They
were having some domestic problems at the house. Within a short amount
of time guests decided it would be best if they left. Shortly after the
last guest left that's when things went terribly wrong,' said Cottom.
When
police arrived, they discovered the basement locked and so had to call
out the Terre Haute Police Department Special Response Team.
'The remote camera was able to determine he was in the basement, unresponsive,' said Cottom.
Friends such as Brooke Llewellyn took to Facebook to express their grief at the loss of their friend.
'Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine on this day that our time as friends would be cut so short,' wrote Brooke.
'You will forever be remembered by many as the most outgoing and energetic woman'
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