Authorities in Tennessee are investigating a devastating quadruple murder-suicide after a 32-year-old nurse practitioner allegedly fatally shot her two young sons and her elderly grandmother before taking her own life. Deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office discovered four bodies inside a home in Waverly during a welfare check on January 2.
Investigators said all four victims died from gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as Arius Thompson, 4, Isaiah Johnson, 13, and Evelyn Johnson, 88. Authorities said the boys’ mother, Heather Thompson, 32, was also found dead inside the residence. Preliminary evidence indicates Heather killed her children and grandmother before dying by suicide.
Officials said there is no indication that anyone else was involved. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis became emotional while addressing the tragedy, noting that he personally knew the family and that they had lived in the community their entire lives. “Here again, small town America. Here again, I know the families,” Davis said, referencing the tight-knit nature of the rural county.
“So, we’re going to do right by them. We’re going to respect them. We’re going to do right by them.” Davis said there was no known call history at the home prior to the welfare check. He added that investigators are following up with the local school system and other state agencies as part of the ongoing investigation. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the case, according to local station WSMV.
Public records show Heather Thompson worked as a nurse at Ascension Saint Thomas Three Rivers Hospital in Waverly after earning her master’s degree from Walden University. Authorities have not released a possible motive. The children’s father, Jeremiah “Biah” Thompson, who was estranged from Heather, shared his grief in a series of online posts.
“I miss my sons already. Daddy still loves you. Sorry, I was at work,” he wrote. Biah later launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses and to bring his sons back to New Mexico, where he lives. As of the latest update, the fundraiser had raised nearly $11,000 toward a $16,000 goal.
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“As a father, it hurt and shattered my soul to hear my sons Arius(Ari) and Isaiah have been taken from me and are no longer with us,” he wrote. “They were just babies. Every second of today, I wish I could just wake up.”
In a follow-up message, Biah thanked supporters and said he and his sister were traveling to Tennessee to bring the boys home. Hundreds of people offered condolences and words of encouragement online.
The tragedy comes only months after Humphreys County was shaken by a massive explosion at an explosives manufacturing plant that killed 16 people, compounding grief in a community still recovering from loss.
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