Darwin Brazier

Six people died over the weekend in connection to two separate deadly shooting incidents under investigation by the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators believe the gunman in each incident took his own life.

The first deadly shooting was reported Friday night, shortly after 8 p.m. Two Hispanic men were reported shot in a residence in a mobile home park at 19260 Airfield St., Athens.

One man, 44-year-old Adolfo Sanchez-Decampo, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, 37-year-old Rigoberto Sanchez-Decampo, was airlifted to Huntsville Hospital via MedFlight. He died Saturday from his injuries.

The Sheriff’s Office had initially announced they were seeking a suspect in the shootings, but Spokesman Stephen Young said Monday preliminary indications point to murder-suicide, with a final determination dependent on autopsy results of the victims.

Pinedale Road murders

In a fit of rage on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, Darwin Brazier shot his ex-wife, her husband and their roommate 30 times with a high-powered rifle at their home near Ardmore. The killer then headed home to Cook Road in Madison County and killed himself when confronted by law enforcement officers about 8 p.m.

The shooter’s anger apparently stemmed from “a bad marriage and a bad custody battle,” said Limestone County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Young.

Shortly after the shooting, Young named the shooter’s ex-wife, Debra Hartley Rivera, 41, of 27774 Pinedale Road. The names of the other two victims were withheld pending notification of relatives. Monday afternoon, Young identified the other victims as Radex Rivera, 41, Debra’s husband, and the couple’s roommate, Timothy James Hayword-Boger, age unknown.

Debra Rivera had twice tried to obtain a protection from abuse order from the Limestone County Circuit Court. Both times her requests were granted only temporarily and then denied. She told the court in one application he had pulled a gun on her in the past and was threatening her and her new husband.

The 911 call

Around 1:44 p.m. Sunday, Limestone deputies responded to a 911 call to Rivera’s home. A woman, who has not been named, called 911 and notified dispatchers Brazier had sent her a text message telling her he had killed his ex-wife, her husband, a man named Tim and was going to kill himself, Young said.

“Deputies found the bodies of the victims on the back porch of the residence,” Young said. “Multiple spent shell casings from 7.62-by-39 rifle rounds were found around the area of the carport. Evidence indicates Brazier fired 30 rounds from an SKS rifle with a high-capacity magazine.”

Shortly after the shooting, Brazier’s vehicle was found abandoned on Macedonia Road in Madison County, Young said. Brazier once lived on Macedonia Road, according to court records. Later, a SWAT team was at Macedonia Road near Alabama 53, looking for Brazier. They eventually found him at his Cook Road home, where he took his life.

Limestone County officers were assisted by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and K-9 units, the Madison County SWAT team and other resources.

Denied protection orders

In March of 2017 and 2018, Rivera had sought protection from abuse orders from the Limestone County Circuit Court and both times they were granted temporarily and then denied by Circuit Judge Chadwick Wise after a final hearing.  In one application, she said her husband was angry she remarried. She also said Brazier had in the past pulled a gun on her and had caused her physical pain. 

In each of her applications for protection, Rivera accused Brazier of harassment, stalking, annoying, threatening or engaging in conduct that would place her in reasonable fear of bodily injury. Both times she asked that he surrender his weapons. 

In her 2017 application, Rivera said she found a GPS tracking unit on her car, which she believed Brazier installed. She said he also threatened to take their two daughters, and he stole her notebook computer and gave her personal information to a convicted felon who then harassed her.

In December 2017, Riveria had been granted custody of their two daughters, now 5 and 11, and Brazier had been granted visitation. In her 2018 application for a protection order, she said the situation had escalated since she was granted custody of the children. 

On April 10 this year, Wise denied Rivera’s most recent request for a protection order following a final hearing that Rivera and Brazier attended and where testimony was given. Brazier was represented at the hearing by an attorney; Rivera was not. Alacourt records do not indicate why Wise denied the requests, but her testimony or evidence apparently did not meet the requirements for getting a protection order.

Vigilance

In a statement Monday, Sheriff Mike Blakely called the murders and suicide an unnecessary and unfortunate escalation of what appears to be a long-term history of domestic violence.

“When tragedies like this happen and you have multiple casualties, it sometimes tends to make area residents feel unsafe,” the sheriff said. “Limestone County was recently voted and rated the safest county in Alabama. This type of incident, although tragic, doesn’t take away from that. The victims were specific domestic targets of the offender.”

Blakely went on to say, “Domestic violence doesn’t distinguish between communities; it can happen anywhere. It’s important that people are vigilant in reporting instances of domestic violence that they witness, and that victims report domestic abuses as well. We always remain hopeful that vigilance in these circumstances can prevent escalation to the point of senseless tragedies like this.”