Couple dead in murder-suicide, children found safe at Gwinnett home

A husband and wife were killed Monday in an apparent murder-suicide inside their Lawrenceville-area home, authorities said.

Gwinnett County police believe 41-year-old Henry Settle fatally shot his wife, 36-year-old Claudia Settle, in an upstairs bedroom before turning the gun on himself. The couple’s two young children were unharmed and found downstairs when officers arrived at home on Braemore Mill Drive.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Officers were sent to the neighborhood off Lawrenceville Highway about 9:30 a.m. to respond to a domestic call, Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle told reporters at the scene. When they arrived at the home, they found the couple with gunshot wounds, he said.

Henry Settle had already died when police arrived, and Claudia Settle died after being taken to a hospital by an ambulance, authorities said.

“At this time, it appears as though Henry shot his wife, then shot himself. Both suffered a single gunshot wound,” Winderweedle said Tuesday.

A motive for the shooting is still under investigation, he said. No further information was released about the couple’s children.