4 dead in Winston County left suicide notes proclaiming innocence, detailing funeral wishes

By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 07, 2013 at 4:41 PM, updated October 07, 2013 at 6:37 PM


WINSTON COUNTY, Alabama - Four people found shot to death in a car in Winston County left suicide notes which proclaimed their innocence in a child porn investigation and gave instructions for their funeral arrangements, Sheriff Rick Harris said today.
The bodies of Robert Samuel Hamrick, Andy Keith Hunt, 37, Kevin Carey, 30 and Kristie Hamrick, 39, were discovered Wednesday night on a logging road near County Road 327. All four had the same address in Savannah, Tenn.
Harris said today that Kristie Hamrick was the ex-wife of Robert Hamrick and the sister of Andy Keith Hunt. Kevin Carey was a family friend. All four were under investigation for child pornography, but only the Hamricks had been charged. Robert Hamrick had lived in the Polar Springs area near the Winston/Walker county line in 2002.
The sheriff said a Mossberg 12-gauge pump shotgun was used in the killings. Based on forensic evidence, authorities believe Andy Keith Hunt killed his sister, ex brother-in-law and friend before getting inside the car and killing himself.
The sheriff said it's one of the most bizarre cases he has seen. "If someone was an aspiring writer, they might have an episode out of this,'' Harris said.
Today he released more details about the days leading up to the discovery of the bodies, and the gruesome scene found first by a motorist, and then law enforcement.
All four, Harris said, were under investigation in Tennessee for child pornography. The FBI was involved in the probe, and had seized their computers. Harris said he couldn't discuss the specifics of the allegations, but called the crimes "pretty bizarre, pretty terrible." "If you have the FBI coming in to investigate, it's pretty serious,'' the sheriff said.
On Friday, Sept. 27, a friend of Kevin Carey told authorities in Alabama that he met with Carey and the others at a truck stop on Interstate 22 near Hamilton. Carey told the friend they were accused of serious crimes in Tennessee and were planning to kill themselves rather than go to prison.
On Wednesday, a woman called Winston County sheriff's officials to report a white car parked off the roadway. She later told lawmen she had first seen the white 2005 Mazda sedan when coming from work before lunch, and then later again that evening. She realized something was wrong and called sheriff's deputies. A second person had seen the vehicle about 4:30 p.m. and noticed the driver's door was open, but didn't notify authorities.
When sheriff's officials approached the car, the windshield wipers were on, the radio was blaring, the engine was running and all doors were closed with all the windows open. Carey was in the front passenger's seat; Robert Hamrick was in the back seat on the passenger side, Kristie Hamrick was in the back seat on the driver side and Hunt was in the driver's seat.
Harris said all four were unrecognizable. Authorities believe Hunt walked around the outside of the car shooting the others. He shot Carey first, hitting him twice in the head at close range. Harris said they believe the first shot didn't kill Carey, so Hunt had to fire again.
Robert Hamrick was shot second, followed by Kristie Hamrick. "Then Hunt got back in the driver's seat and put the shotgun to his head,'' Harris said. "The wounds were typical for what you would see in a suicide with a shotgun, but it was intensified by having four victims in a close area."
A total of five spent rounds were found at the scene. Investigators are working with ATF to determine the ownership history of the gun, which was first bought in 1995 in Jasper, Harris said.
The three men, the sheriff said, each had a written statement on them. Kristie Hunt's written statement was in the glove box. They were written on torn sheets of legal paper, and were similar in content. The notes said they were innocent of the crimes of which they were accused, listed contacts for family members and detailed their wishes for their funerals.
Each statement was signed, and matched the signatures on driver's licenses. All have been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico for further evaluation.
Harris said authorities learned that on the day before the shootings, they had bought over-the counter sleep medicine. Investigators are still waiting on toxicology test results to determine whether they went to sleep before the shootings. "Evidently that was part of the plan somehow,'' Harris said. "Hopefully we'll know that by the end of the week."