INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Tragedy In Virginia: Chesapeake Murder-Suicide Leaves Dooley Family Dead

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 05:56 PST, Jan 28, 2016

A murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Virginia, has left six people dead. Multiple members of the Dooley family of Deep Creek were killed on Wednesday. Police investigators believe Cameron Dooley was the murderer who ultimately took his own life.

The Chesapeake murder-suicide victims were Doris Dooley, the grandmother of suspected Virginia killer, Todd Dooley and Lori Dooley, his parents, and siblings Brooke Dolley and Landon Dooley. A police officer arrived at the home on the 2300 block of Wildwood Road yesterday afternoon on a welfare check. After entering the home, the police officers quickly encountered one dead body on the floor, ABC News 13 reports.

The gruesome discovery at the home led them to search a nearby house just a few blocks away at the intersection of Wintergreen Drive and North George Washington Highway. When the Chesapeake police officers arrived at the home, they encountered an armed individual who refused to exit the premises.

After blocking off the neighborhood for safety reasons, Chesapeake officers attempted to negotiate with the armed individual for several hours. When negotiations failed and police entered the home, they found five more dead people inside, including the person they have been trying to coax out of the residence.

The officers believe that the shooter had killed all of the family members before they arrived on the scene. The bodies have been removed from the home and sent to the county coroner’s officers. Cameron Dooley was described as a “nice kid” by neighbors. No motive is currently known in the case, Chesapeake police officers are currently considering the murder-suicide to be the result of some type of a domestic incident.

According to local news reports featuring comments by area residents and friends, the Dooley family were prominent members of the community and very active members of the Temple Baptist Church of Chesapeake. Todd Dooley was reportedly a retired Chesapeake Police Officer with the Marine Dive Unit. Allen Dooley, Todd’s father, had been a pastor at the church the Dooley family still attended, the Chesapeake Pilot Online reports.

Since the death of Allen Dooley, the health of Doris Dooley declined, according to neighbors. Cameron Dooley reportedly moved in with his grandmother to help take care of her and was frequently seen in the neighborhood walking back and forth between the two homes. Neighbors also said that Doris Dooley was in the midst of selling her home and planned on moving in with her daughter. Todd Dooley and relatives from North Carolina were seen packing. Todd had just recently started to work at a local dive shop to supplement his retirement income and for something enjoyable to do, according to neighbors.

Only a small bit of information is currently known about each of the Chesapeake murder-suicide victims, and many of the details stem from social media posts about the parents, grandmother, and the children. Brooke Dooley was reportedly a junior at Deep Creek High School. She was seemingly well-liked on the campus and a member of the cheerleading squad. The school has called in grief counselors to help students and staff deal with the outpouring of emotion over the tragic deaths.

The Temple Baptist church is planning a vigil to honor and remember the Dooley family for later this evening at the house of worship.

Check back with the Inquisitr for more details about Chesapeake murder-suicide story as additional information becomes available.

[Image via Youtube]

Share this article: Tragedy In Virginia: Chesapeake Murder-Suicide Leaves Dooley Family Dead
More from Inquisitr