Man Accused of Shooting His Elderly Relatives at 'Point Blank Range' Outside Their Home

An elderly couple — considered “pillars of the community” — was gunned down in the driveway of their North Carolina home.

Michael Powell, 72, and his wife Carolyn, 70, were found dead by a neighbor around 10:26 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Both victims were shot in the head with a shotgun at “point blank range,” according to a press release posted on Facebook from the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office.

Arrested in the murders is Ryvaries Butcher, a relative and neighbor of the retired couple.

According to Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith, Powell and his wife had just returned to their home outside of Gaston when they were shot.

“It all happened out in their yard before they could even go in the home,” Smith tells PEOPLE. “I don’t know where he came from — whether he was around their house or came from his house. It was only a matter of seconds before they were dead.”

After the shooting, Butcher, 35, allegedly stole the couple’s pick-up truck and fled the area.

Officers found the truck the following day, at 2:20 a.m., in a hotel parking lot in Roanoke Rapids.

Butcher was apprehended later that day.

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He has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony larceny of a motor vehicle.

Smith says investigators have yet to determine a motive.

“It is still under investigation,” he says.

“It is very sad,” he adds. “They were just as nice as any Sunday school teacher you have ever met.  These were very good Christian people, pillars in the community. It was a terrible way to leave this earth.”