An elderly North Carolina couple were found dead in their home, the same residence where their great-grandchild was accidentally shot and killed a year earlier.
Authorities responding to a report of injuries at a Greenville, N.C., home discovered Rayfield Ruffin, 73, and his wife, Frances Ruffin, 67, deceased on Wednesday, Dec. 31, according to a statement from the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office.
The couple’s grandson, Martinez Corvell Ruffin, 34, has been arrested in connection with their deaths, officials said.
The Greenville home is also where the couple’s great-grandchild, 5-year-old Karter River Rosenboro, died in October 2024 after being accidentally shot by his 6-year-old brother, local outlet WITN reported.
Following his death, Karter was remembered in a fundraiser as “a happy 5-year-old with a bright smile and loved by so many.”
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It was not immediately clear how Martinez Ruffin was related to Karter.
After the child’s death, Rayfield Ruffin had been charged by Pitt County officials with violating firearm storage laws meant to protect minors, the sheriff’s office previously said, according to WITN. Rayfield was later released on bond, and the status of that case at the time of his death remains unclear. Online court records did not list additional details.
Martinez Ruffin now faces two counts of murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held without bail.
Authorities said it was not immediately known whether Martinez had entered pleas or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
