2010022501

Police: Husband Kills Wife, Calls 911, Commits Suicide

By Edward R. Brown, The Raleigh Telegram

Week Of Thursday, February 25, 2010

GARNER - According to the Garner Police Department, a local man killed his wife in their home and then killed himself, but not before calling 911 to report the murder.

Killed in the incident were Daniel Jonathan Powell, age 52, and Doreen Kay Powell, age 46, who were married and both lived at 217 Whithorne Drive in Garner.

The subdivision is a quiet, wooded community and the law abiding couple worked for the United States Postal Service, according to various reports.

The Garner Police Department held a press conference after the shooting, disclosing the details.

“The Garner Police Department is concluding its investigation of the incident at 217 Whithorne Drive,” said the department. “At this time we are able to classify the incident as a murder-suicide.”

On the morning of Thursday, February 25th, the Garner Police were told about a 911 call received by the dispatch center at around 10:28am.

“In this report the male caller indicated he wanted to confess to a murder,” said the police.

In the chillingly calm phone call to the 911 dispatcher after the murder, Daniel Powell even asks the dispatcher how she was doing that day.

“Hi, how are you doing,” he said to the dispatcher. “I want to confess to a murder,” he says calmly later on in the phone call.

When Garner Police officers entered the home, they said they discovered the bodies of the Powells. According to the police, they believe that Daniel Powell killed his wife and then committed suicide with a gun.

The police department did not disclose a cause of death for Powell’s wife but said that Doreen Powell had “visible injuries consistent with both a knife and handgun.”

The bodies were sent to the medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill, and they will officially determine the cause of death for Daniel and Doreen Powell, the department said.

The (Raleigh) News & Observer reports that the couple had three adult daughters and a teenage daughter that still lived in the home.

According to the Garner Police Department, the couple did not have any problems that were reported to the police previously.

“Daniel Powell does not have a criminal history,” said the department.

Garner Police said according to their call logs, they had been called to the residence four times previously, but “there were no reports of domestic issues to police.”

The police said that the most recent call was in 2003 for an animal complaint, and there have been no crimes reported at their house.

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