Murder-Suicide Case Being Investigated In Burke County

fire lineMORGANTON, N.C. – A woman set fire to her home Monday in a Burke County murder-suicide, the sheriff’s office says.

Deputies responded to the home in the 2800 block of McNeely Drive in Morganton around 8 a.m.

Detectives arrived to find 61-year-old Karen Mehzahdeh dead in the basement. First responders found Darrell Powell, 75, in the living room suffering from severe burns. Medics took him to Grace Hospital for treatment. He was then airlifted to another hospital in Winston Salem, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say the fire started in the living room. Mehzahdeh started the fire under the couch Powell was sleeping on before killing herself, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Powell and Mehzahdeh both lived in the home and had been in a relationship for several years.  They couple had been the subject of several domestic violence calls in the past.

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