Domestic Violence Appears To Be Linked To Barry County Couples Deaths:

It appears that domestic violence played a role in the deaths of a Barry County couple over the weekend.

Monett Police Chief Tim Schweder says a fireman passing 805 N. Euclid noticed a hysterical woman in the front yard. The fire fighter called in the situation shortly before 10 p.m. last night (06-14-09) and when officers arrived on scene, "the house was locked, but officers could see a man's body in the living room," according to Schweder.

Cops kicked in the door and found 26 year-old Curtis Brandon Carter in the living room....a high power rifle lay not far from his body. Officers found 31 year-old Shelly Garner lying on a bed in the bedroom of the rental house.

Schweder says, "friends and family members indicated that there were frequent fights in the residence."

According to the chief there were no domestic related disturbances that his office responded to at the Euclid Street address. However, Carter had a pending court case involving unlawful use of a weapon, dating back to September 2008.

Garner was the mother of a six-year-old little girl who was not home at the time of the incident.