It was just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday when the usually quiet neighborhood on Pinelynn Lane in Palm Coast grew tense. Deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare‐check request by a worried relative who hadn’t heard from 85-year-old Julio Alonso and his 74-year-old wife, Martha Alonso, in more than a day.
A hospice nurse assisted deputies in entering the home, and what they found was devastating: the couple was located in their bedroom, both deceased. According to preliminary investigation, Julio Alonso shot his wife, Martha, then turned the gun on himself.
Neighbors said they last saw the couple on Tuesday, when they mentioned going for a hospital visit.
Sheriff Rick Staly described the scene as a “tragic murder-suicide,” and acknowledged the unimaginable pain the family now faces. “Losing a parent is never easy, but losing both parents to what appears to be a murder-suicide is unimaginable,” he said in his statement.
The couple had lived at the home on Pinelynn Lane for decades. In fact, they originally moved there from New Jersey back in 1988, settling into the house where their lives would unfold for the next 37 years.
In the early stages of the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case and CSI units are handling the scene; the bodies have been transported to the medical examiner’s office in St. Augustine while officers and detectives sort through evidence and interviews.
Beyond the facts of the case, the statement from the Sheriff reminds the community: if you are feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, or in need of help, you are not alone. Residents of Flagler County can reach out to local support, including the crisis line at 988 or the helpline at 386-319-9483.
As the investigation continues, the wound of loss ripples outward: to neighbors who once waved cheerfully at the Alonsos, to family members who now face a devastating void — and to a city that both mourns and must reckon with what led to this heart-breaking outcome.
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