CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The sister of the lone survivor of a double-murder suicide in south Charlotte spoke exclusively to NBC Charlotte.
Police said 51-year-old Matthew Chaplin and 15-year-old Jenna Hewitt were shot to death Sunday morning at a home near Providence Country Club. Matthew's daughter, 16-year-old Kate, survived the attack.
Kate's sister, Zoe, who goes to App State, told us about the last time she saw her father alive. She also explained what she thinks happened in those early morning hours when her life was changed forever.
"I think he died the same way he lived," Zoe said. "I truly believe that he tried his hardest to be the best dad that he could be and part of that is to be the protector."
Zoe last saw her dad three weeks ago. Now she and Kate are in mourning.
The sisters are no strangers to death. They lost their mother in 2016 due to illness. The loss of their father, though, was a shock.
"This is something completely random, and I think the only thing to blame is pure evil possessed for someone to have to do that. There is no motive or reasoning when it's something that evil," Zoe said.
Zoe went on to say how dangerous social media can be for young girls.
"That man was three years older than me," she said.
"Seven or eight years older than your sister," NBC Charlotte's Rachel Lundberg added.
"It's not okay," Zoe said.
Jayna Huffines, a mother figure to Zoe, told NBC Charlotte this was another tragedy the family shouldn’t be going through.
"I think that it's really hard to know what to say. These girls have just had it stacked on them," said Jayna. "It's something that's crossed my mind a thousand times. It's like, oh God, what do we do now?"
Zoe said she was going to pick up Kate Wednesday so they could spend some time together. There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.
On Tuesday night, a message was sent to the parents of students who go to Ardrey Kell High School addressing the loss of Jenna.
"To celebrate the life of Jenna Hewitt, our students have decided to wear black on Friday, paint the rock at the entrance of the school and put flowers around the school’s marquee," the message read in part.