HICKORY, N.C. — Lakeliah Whitworth, 25, was shot and killed by Eric Holbrook on Christmas Eve on 18th Street Northeast in Hickory, officials said.
Holbrook then shot himself, police said.
Whitworth's mother, Lashun Ruff, said the couple and their daughter had spent the day shopping.
Ruff wanted Whitworth and her brother to live with her.
"I tried to explain all of that to (Holbrook) and he just didn't grasp it," Ruff said.
Later that night Holbrook accused Ruff of cheating. That was when Ruff told her daughter to pack her things so they (Withworth and Ruff) could leave.
"He was like, 'Why are you leaving?' I said, 'Because this doesn't feel right,'" she said.
Ruff said Whitworth tried to defend her.
"Before I could look, he was on top of her hitting her in her head with a gun," Ruff said.
Holbrook shot Whitworth twice and then turned the gun on himself, Ruff said.
Whitworth died at the hospital.
The case is under investigation.
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