Madison authorities assembling clues in murder-suicide

Madison County authorities had no history of calls to a home where an apparent murder-suicide took place last week, the county’s sheriff said Monday.
Sheriff Erik Weaver said his office had no record of domestic disputes between Cynthia D. Nicholson and Manuel Paul Nicholson Jr. Investigators found the couple dead in their home in the 3000 block of Ridgeview Road shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.
Cynthia Nicholson was discovered with a gunshot wound to the upper torso, while her husband was found in the garage with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the upper torso, according to investigators.
Cynthia Nicholson had called her brother-in-law to come over and try to calm down her husband, so he went over about 9:30 p.m., Weaver said, adding that it’s likely she feared for her life. The brother-in-law walked in and saw Cynthia Nicholson dead. He drove home and called for help.
“He went inside and found her laying on the floor,” Weaver said. “Everybody argues, but for something to go like this, this is very unusual in Madison County.”
He also said that alcohol was a likely factor, but he is waiting on a toxicology report to say for sure. Alcohol containers were scattered around, Weaver said, and “there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from [Manuel Nicholson’s] person.”
The couple had two children, both under the age of 18, who are staying with relatives. Weaver said his office will interview family members and others to try to piece together what may have happened Friday. The medical examiner’s report is expected sometime in the next two months.