Possible murder-suicide shocks area
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Smith County officers arrived at the scene of a domestic disturbance on FM 2661 east of Chandler. What they found inside was a tragic sight.

Responders from the department found 78-year-old Johnny Carl Kellis and his 72- year-old spouse Gayle Fry deceased from gunshot wounds.

The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

The call was made at about 10:30 am Monday, April 14.

Larry Wiginton, a Lieutenant with the Smith County Sheriff's Office, said investigators are currently in the early stages of investigation.

"It's hard to say how long this investigation will take," Wiginton said. "These are always difficult types of investigations because it is hard to know the real reason behind the incident."

Wiginton added the call was made by Kellis' out-of-town brother.

The tragedy began when the sheriff's department received a domestic disturbance call reporting gunfire in the vicinity of the FM 2661 mobile home. The door was reportedly open when officers arrived, but contact could not be established with either Kellis or Fry.

According to Wiginton, contact was attempted via cell phone, LAN line and even by having Kellis' son use a loudspeaker from outside the home.

After no contact was made, a SWAT team fired tear gas inside and found the two dead in the home.

Johnny Kellis was a former Jacksonville police officer.

Wiginton said two fulltime investigators are working on the case by speaking with Kellis' family. Several assistants are aiding them in the case.

Though Kellis and his wife were known to have fought in the past, violence never came of it.

"We're going to try and find out what was happening between these two," Wiginton said.

The bodies of both Kellis and Fry are in Dallas undergoing autopsies.

Wiginton reiterated the difficulty of figuring out the reason behind incidents such as these when all involved parties are deceased.

"Will anyone ever know the real reason? No." Wiginton said.