Carrollton: Police investigate possible murder/suicide
By Senitra Horbrook, Staff Writer

A mother and son are dead after a shooting early Tuesday morning in Carrollton.

Sgt. John Singleton, spokesman for the Carrollton Police Department, said the initial investigation indicates the shooting of 44-year-old Cherra Coate and her 20-year-old son Joshua may be a murder/suicide.

Carrollton Police and Fire emergency dispatchers received a report of an alarm at about 4:45 a.m. Nov. 18 and dispatched patrol officers to a residence in the 3900 block of Luke Lane. When officers arrived they found an unsecured door at the house.

Cherra Coate was found dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. Joshua was found alive with a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he died Tuesday afternoon. Both were shot with a revolver, which was found in the bedroom with the victims. However, it is still unclear which of the pair did the shooting and police do not want to speculate.

“We’re not at the point where we are ready to identify the shooter,” Sgt. Singleton said. “We’re waiting on forensics from the medical examiner’s office.”

The mother and son were the only ones in the home at the time.

Dallas Morning News - November 18, 2008