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NC family visited sheriff's office TWO HOURS before father killed GF and kids in murder-suicide

26-year-old Aschod Ewing-Meeks fatally shot his family before setting ablaze their Davie County home and turning the gun on himself

DAVIE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: The Davie County Sheriff reported how a family visited their office just hours before the father fatally shot his girlfriend and two children and later set their home on fire, killing himself in an apparent murder-suicide.

26-year-old Aschod Ewing-Meeks killed his family last week in a murder-suicide that Davie County Sheriff JD Hartman referred to as "one of the worst, if not the worst" cases he had come across. Ewing-Meeks allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend, Ashton Brown, 26, and their two children Bella, aged 4, and Brixtyn, aged 8 months, before setting ablaze their Davie County home and turning the gun on himself. It has now emerged that the entire family was captured on surveillance cameras speaking with a receptionist at the Davie County Sheriff's Office about two hours before the tragedy.

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Speaking to WGHP, officials said the family was vague about the reason for their visit but had requested to speak with a deputy. The family reportedly made a number of attempts to speak with the authorities before their deaths. According to surveillance footage, the family walked into the sheriff's office around 12.10 pm on April 18, asking to speak with a deputy. The receptionist subsequently asked for the family's information and provided a phone number of someone to contact within the department, and they left the premises around 12.15 pm.

"There was nothing out of the ordinary. They really wouldn't interact with the receptionist or tell her what they wanted," Hartman said during a press conference Wednesday, April 20. Brown reportedly called 911 at 12.35 pm asking to speak with a deputy once again. She told the dispatcher the family had safety concerns but didn't specify what those were exactly. Nonetheless, a deputy returned Brown's call eleven minutes later, and the mother-of-two said she had been calling on behalf of Ewing-Meeks. She passed the phone to the perp but the call ended after 30 seconds. Police said it's unclear if it was a network issue or if someone hung up, but they called the family back multiple times and had numerous short conversations over the span of the next half an hour. 

In one of the calls, Ewing Meeks told the authorities he believed the family was being followed and that they were driving around the community. However, he wouldn't provide his specific location or return to the sheriff's office. "He advised with the officer that he thought that someone was following him, but he wasn't in danger, they weren't threatening him," Hartman said. "The officer attempted to get them to come back to the sheriff's office. They were driving around; they wouldn't tell the officer where they were." One of the deputies made several more attempts to reach Ewing-Meeks, but the phone went to voicemail shortly after 1 pm.

Witnesses told police they last saw Ewing-Meeks and Brown arguing on their front porch around 2 pm. Shortly after, they reported smoke coming out of the house. One community member who was driving past the burning home drove to the local fire station to report the incident. Firefighters responded to the address by 2.15 pm and discovered the victims' bodies inside the home. Police said the two children were found in the kitchen, while Brown was in the doorway of a bedroom. Ewing-Meeks was found near the kitchen, holding a gun. A preliminary investigation found the fire was not accidental. "All four victims are deceased from gunshot wounds," Hartman told reporters. "The fire was intentionally set. Mr Meeks was deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and we found the gun that matches all of this actually still in Mr Meeks' hand." An investigation was launched into the tragic incident and is underway at the time of publication. "I've seen a lot in 30 years, but children – and especially children that are killed by gunshots and burned – it's pretty heinous, so it's pretty close to the worst, if not the worst," the sheriff added.

Meanwhile, Brown's loved ones set up a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses and honor the mother and her young tots. Friends and family remembered the early childhood educator as well-loved throughout the community. "She loved her students and went the extra mile to make sure they were cared for as her own," the fundraiser stated. "Ashton lived to be the best mother she could be for her two children, Bella and Brixytn. We are saddened by this sudden tragedy and wish to honor and remember them as such," the page added.