Vinton Police are investigating a possible murder-suicide.
Authorities say officers discovered two dead bodies in a home yesterday afternoon on a safety and welfare check in the 300 block of Raleigh Avenue in Vinton.
Officers arrived at the home but didn’t receive a response at the door. Police saw the couple’s cars in the driveway so the officers entered the home. The couple’s bodies were found in the upper level of the home.
Officers found the bodies of Arwen Harless, 39, and Randall Whetzel, 36 in the upper level of the home.
Full News Release From Vinton Police: Vinton, VA – On July 28, 2016 at 1:46PM, the Vinton Police Department was contacted and asked to respond to a duplex located in the 300 block of Raleigh Avenue, in the Town of Vinton, to conduct a safety and welfare check at a private residence. Family members of the couple contacted police due to their inability to contact the couple, and due to concerns they had over communications they had received the previous evening, July 27, 2016. However, the Vinton Police Department was not notified of these concerns at that time.
At 1:51PM July 28, 2016, officers arrived at the residence, but were unable to make contact with the occupants. After receiving no response at the door, and observing the couple’s vehicles parked in the driveway, the officers made entry into the home. Upon entry, the responding officers located the bodies of two deceased persons in the upper level of the home.
Special Agents from the Virginia State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, were contacted by the Vinton Police Department to assist Vinton detectives with the investigation and the processing of the scene. The deceased persons have been identified as Ms. Arwen Gina Harless, age 39, and Mr. Randall Scott Whetzel, age 36, both of Vinton. There are no other persons or suspects being sought in relation to these deaths or this investigation. The bodies of the deceased have been transported to the state medical examiner’s office so as to determine the official manner and cause of death.
