FAMILY NEEDS HELP AFTER DOUBLE MURDER SUICIDE

Update 8/11/2024

Services for Mary Janice McCary Ray will be held this Friday at:

Waters Funeral Home

309 N. 2nd Street

Baldwyn, MS 38824

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Good friend and former classmate ('86), Deborah Floyd Laws, is the last living member of her immediate family after her Step-father carried out a double murder on her mother and sister then took his own life. The initial press release is below. They have three funerals to get through and a lot of work ahead of them. She lives out of state now as does her Step-Father's children which further adds difficulty and expense.

There are some needs that were prepared for, some they never saw coming and some they are working towards covering. Any help with these would be greatly appreciated.

When this fundraiser was started it was thought the crime scene clean up of three shootings was going to cost between $15,000 & $20,000 out of pocket. Plus home damages to some surfaces tgat would require work. Insurance is covering all but $1,500 of the final quote of $18,000 and $30,000 plus in damages. That's good news but the deductible is still needed.

Her oldest son was staying there and home asleep when this happened. It's indescribable the horrors he saw of his loved ones who cannot have open casket service due to their wounds. He is deeply traumatized and needs some professional care on top of sorting out where he will live now.

Her parents arrangements are made and paid for. Unfortunately her sister had nothing in place for this, and it's no easy feat for her three daughters who are in college and high school aged. A cremation and small marker to go next to her mother's grave is needed. They will share a plot which helps a lot in costs.

Her step-father will have a military service with honors that is covered by his years of active duty service. He served through multiple wars and military actions in the Tennessee Air Guard, where he also reassembled and was honored for putting The original Memphis Belle back together. He finished all the years he was allowed to have as a career serviceman and retired as a disabled veteran. He was a selfless, giving and caring man that always accommodated anyone he could offer assistance to. Ironically, in his retirement years, he established a nonprofit where he put together multiple facets of veteran's benefit and entitled perks so groups could travel, be housed, fed, sometimes transported and got group rates for sight seeing. This only cost personal spending money for the veteran to go. His hope and purpose was to reduce the number of Veteran suicides by networking them with others, and lowering depression and stress from loneliness and lack of purpose or societal strain. This is what the family wants him remembered for because he deserves that. They know why and understand his actions but ask the public not to openly speculate online. No one outside knows the family dynamics that were in play and it's not even close to what strangers are writing online. Rickie Ray was not a villian, psycho, deranged or abusive. He was a solid respected and honorable man.

PRESS RELEASE

CITY OF HERNANDO, MISSISSIPPI

HERNANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT

2601 Elm Street

Hernando, Mississippi 38632

Chief Shane Ellis

Asst. Chief Charles Lanphere

For Immediate Release

To all,

The Hernando Police Department would like to express our condolences and offer our prayers to the families, friends, and members of our community affected by this incident. At approximately 0802 hours on Sunday, August 4h, 2024, officers of the HIernando Police Department responded to a 91 1 call regarding an individual being awakened by multiple gunshots on Mason Drive. Upon arrival, and while securing a residence, officers located three (3) individuals with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds,

One individual, identified as a white female, Kelley Denise Cincurak (51 y/o) was found shot on the back patio. Medical personnel offered life-saving aid before transporting her via helicopter to Regional One Health in extremely critical condition. Cincurak has since passed away from her injuries.

An elderly white female, Mary Janice Ray (78 y/o) had also been shot while watching tv in the breakfast room of the residence.

A white male, identified as Rickie Thomas Ray (71 y/o) was found lying in the master bedroom, along with two firearms, with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Both Mary and Rickie Ray were pronounced dead on the scene and turned over to the DeSoto County Coroner.

At this time, items of evidence are in the process of being turned over to the Mississippi Crime Lab for further analysis and law enforcement personnel are following up on all information involving the details of this incident. The Hernando Police Department is confident in reiterating that this was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the community or on-going concerns for the citizens of Hernando.

Thank you

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The family asked for the original request to be rewritten, which is above.

Below is the original.

"I can't believe I moved to eldest matriarch in one day." Deborah Floyd Laws said as she began to process the tragedy of losing her parents and sister. This tragedy has taken the lives of 3 beautiful loved ones.

Hi. My name is Charett. On August 4th, a very dear friend and classmate from SHS in Mississippi lost her family to a tragic murder/suicide. There is much to be done, but first and foremost, she has been faced with the forensic clean-up of the home. They can not re-enter the home until clean-up has been done but clean-up can not begin until payment has been made.

This type of clean up is specialized and very expensive so I'm attempting to help alleviate her burden as God commands me to do. But also because I love her and she is a friend in need.

The funds will be spent on the necessary clean-up of the home and the surrounding expenses that it entails. Her son, Ray, discovered the bodies. So Deborah and Ray will be in need of grief counseling on top of planning final arrangements.

At approximately 0802 hours on Sunday, August 4th, 2024, officers of the Hernando Police Department responded to a 911 call made by Ray Laws having been awakened by multiple gunshots on Mason Drive. Upon arrival, and while securing the residence, officers located three (3) individuals with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

One individual, identified as a white female, Kelley Denise Cincurak (51 y/o), was found shot on the back patio. Medical personnel offered life-saving aid before transporting her via helicopter to Regional One Health in extremely critical condition. Cincurak has since passed away from her injuries.

An elderly white female, Mary Janice Ray (78 y/o), had also been shot while watching TV in the breakfast room of the residence.

A white male, identified as Rickie Thomas Ray (71 y/o), was found lying in the master bedroom, along with two firearms, with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Both Mary and Rickie Ray were pronounced dead on the scene.

Rickie Ray, Deborah's Step-Father, was a military veteran. He met his breaking point while coping with extreme circumstances in regards to his ailing wife and troubled step-daughter. He tragically ended their lives, and then his own.

Ironically, he had started a nonprofit a few years earlier to organize veterans' benefits. He put groups together and one facet at a time planned trips where all would be available to the veterans at no cost. One may wonder if Rickie even realized he was about to become among veterans that committed suicide from stress, the cause he was trying to solve with his nonprofit organization. Hopefully his work in this area will be continued by someone.

Mary Janice Ray, Deborah's mom, was a nurturing woman and everyone looked to her for guidance and support. She was rock solid in that area and now Deborah will have to fill those shoes as best as she can.

Kelley Denise Cincurak, Deborah's sister, had built many strong long term friendships throughout her life but after some life changing events, she was forced back into her parents home. She was a true patriot & loved America but battled her demons on a daily basis. She will be remembered fondly by her classmates and those who loved her. She leaves three beautiful daughters behind who are really hurting in trying to process this. They were also very close with their grandparents.

Thank you for reading to the end. And thank you for any dollar amount you can spare in these economically hard times. Even if you can afford just to say a prayer it's greatly needed and appreciated.

God's blessings to you all.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

Update 8/7/24

There have been many rude comments on social media from those who feel that this request for donations is done maliciously or is a scam. They are under the assumption somehow that the family had the funds to cover the costs. The family does have homeowners insurance and this may be why there's confusion. The insurance balked at paying due the homeowner being at fault. We have since learned that they have decided to cover a portion of the clean-up costs outside of deductibles. For this reason the total amount requested has been dropped from 25k to 15k.

Unfortunately, we also found out that Kelley's burial expenses are not covered. If that changes, this post will be updated to reflect that.

I assure you here and now that all monies will be refunded if the family finds another source of payment to cover the enormous costs.

I apologize for any anxiety or concern that has been caused from the online trolls. Life is too short for drama and unnecessary heartache. This family has been through enough already and the pain is deep. Just remember that God will measure us ALL by our unrighteous judgment and slander or defamation can be litigated.

I will continue to post updates here as I receive them. Again, thank you to those that can see this request with an open heart.