Deaths of Pierce City woman, 10-year-old daughter ruled murder-suicide

(From the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office)

An autopsy has been completed on Kaydee Moerer and Sara Spears. The autopsy has confirmed what Lawrence County investigators had believed happened at the rural Pierce City residence.

The cause of death for Kaydee Moerer was a single gunshot to the back of the head. The cause of death for Sara Spears was a single gunshot to her forehead.

Based on the investigation along with the autopsy results, the incident is being officially ruled as a murder/suicide.

A recap of the incident follows:

On Monday November 13, 2017 the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office received a call for a well being check at Spears residence to assist the Division of Family Services. There were no Deputies in the immediate area so mutual aid was requested from the Pierce City Police Department.

Chief Abramovitz with PCPD responded to the scene to assist DFS until Deputies could arrive. Based on information that was obtained previously and at the scene, Chief Abramovitz made entry into the residence where the two bodies were discovered. After discovering the bodies, he was able to secure the scene until deputies arrived.

Upon arrival Chief Abromovitz advised the deputies what he had found and deputies made entry into the residence to begin the investigation. The bodies were identified as 40 year old Sara Spears and her daughter 10 year old Kaydee Moerer. They were released to the Lawrence County Coroner for autopsy.

On Tuesday November 14, 2017 the autopsy was conducted and the cause of death was determined.

This incident was ruled a murder/suicide and an isolated incident.

The investigation is continuing to determine how much time had elapsed since someone last had contact with Spears or Moerer.