Court documents from the couple's separation papers outlined nasty arguments, verbal abuse and threats. The fights never turned physical, though, according to the filing.

But on the morning of July 13, the marriage came to a violent end. Investigators say William Fulton House, 50, shot his wife and his 14-year-old stepson, Dakoda Johnson, before turning the gun on himself.

The couple's three young children - ages 2, 7 and 8 - were at home at the time of the shootings but were unharmed. A neighbor called 911 after the couple's 7- and 8-year-old daughters ran to his apartment to tell him that their father had shot their mother and stepbrother.

"It's sad," said Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell. "It just shows domestic [situations] can be deadly."

Sheriff's deputies were familiar with the House family at 640 Castleberry Road. Since April, Devinee House had called 911 four times for help dealing with her husband.

Three days before the deadly shootings, Devinee House, 42, called 911 and said her husband had barred her from taking the children from the home, said Johnston County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tammy Amaon. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they found that she and the children had already left. William House, known as Billy, told the deputies that everything was fine, Amaon said.

On June 17 at 4:30 p.m., Devinee House called 911 and told a dispatcher that her husband had changed the locks on the doors of the home.

On April 29, she called 911 to report that her husband was harrassing her, Amaon said. When sheriff's deputies arrived, William House agreed to leave for the evening, Amaon said.

And on April 20, about an hour after William House was served divorce papers, Devinee House called 911 and reported that her husband was causing problems, Amaon said. William and Devinee House each agreed to find another place to stay for the evening, she said.

Claims of verbal abuse

During the marriage, the separation filing claims, William House once threatened to kill his wife.

He also verbally abused and humiliated her, the filing claims, and called her names in front of their children. The pattern of verbal abuse created an "undercurrent of threat and alienation" in the marriage, said the document, which was filed April 19 in the Johnston County Courthouse.

Devinee House had considered filing a domestic violence restraining order against her husband but dismissed the idea, said Bob Spence Jr., her divorce lawyer.

"She didn't think it was necessary," Spence said. "Obviously, the degree of the violence is something we were not anticipating, and she was not anticipating, at all."

Early last week, an end to the troubled nine-year marriage seemed so close. Spence said the woman seemed happy and optimistic when he saw her the day before she was killed.

"Things were going well," Spence said. "She was smiling, joking with me."

William House had already moved out of the family's home into an apartment in an out-building on the property.

According to her separation filing, Devinee House was financially dependent on her husband. She was unemployed, though she had worked as a veterinary technician earlier in life. She spent much of her time schooling and caring for the four children, the filing said.

According to the separation agreement, William House, who worked for the City of Raleigh's inspections department, would buy his wife out of the house in December, and she would have full custody of their children. He would have had visitation rights, and he would have paid child support.

"It was basically settled," Spence said. "They had a typed, written agreement."

Home improvements

William House enjoyed carpentry work and built the brick house where the family lived, said Danny Davis, 35, who lives next door.

Behind the home, House put up four out-buildings, and another was under construction. A chain-link fence surrounds the main house and the backyard, which contains an elaborate playground set that Davis says House built. Another fence circles the whole property.

"He just loved to build stuff," Davis said. "He built everything over there."

Davis said he began to hear the couple argue around last Christmas. On the morning of July 13, he said, he heard gunshots but didn't call police.

"When I saw the yellow tape, I knew," Davis said. "I didn't know who, but I knew."

Help available

Bizzell said deputies who respond to domestic calls often refer victims to a domestic-violence shelter or refer couples to counseling. But he did not know whether deputies ever referred William and Devinee House to a counselor during the four calls they answered to the couple's home.

Domestic-violence advocates said they were not surprised that the marital discord escalated to violence after Devinee House tried to leave her husband.

"The time of separation can be the most dangerous for a victim," said Beth Froehling, executive director of the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "Most homicides occur during separation or attempted separation."

Laura Hilton, director of community outreach and education with Interact, the Raleigh-based domestic violence center, said victims are 75 percent more at risk of being injured or killed when they try to leave the marital home.

Both Froehling and Hilton said law officers investigating a domestic violence case often carry cards that have contact information for agencies that provide victims with resources, safety and help filing a restraining order.

"It's the most important piece of information to give the victim so that they will know that resources are available in the community," Froehling said.