It was supposed to be a quick visit between a husband and wife. Richard and Stacey Schoeck planned to meet late Sunday night to exchange Valentine's Day cards.
Stacey Schoeck would have to return to Cleveland, Ga., for the night to take care of her grandparents. But Richard Schoeck, 45, had planned to return to their Snellville home and work the following day, according to his mother Marion Schoeck.
But when Stacey Schoeck, a nurse, arrived at the spot -- a dark, curvy road near a north Hall County park -- she knew immediately something was wrong.
"She saw him outside his truck and thought he'd had a heart attack," according to his sister, Carol Fillingim. "She called 9-1-1."
Richard Schoeck had been shot multiple times, his family said. None of his belongings were taken, his mother said. He did not own a gun.
"He had no signs of life," Marion Schoeck said.
Police questioned Stacey Schoeck, Richard Schoeck's wife of two years, but she was later released. The death has been ruled a homicide, according to Hall County police. His family doesn't believe there are any suspects yet.
"They're thinking he was misidentified," Fillingim said.
The shooting incident is still under investigation.
The funeral for Richard Schoeck, a Cub Scout leader and lifelong artist, was held Saturday at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Snellville. The Auburn University graduate majored in art, has painted murals and had an eye for photography, his mother said.
"He took pictures at angles other people wouldn't think about," Marion Schoeck said.
He was also a hot air balloon pilot, his sister said. Scouts and others that attended the funeral wrote messages on helium balloons that were then launched.
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