13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Police: Victims in Grant Co. murders were not having affair

Police: Victims in Grant Co. murders were not having affair

Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News

Swayzee - Police say a man who was murdered last week by a disgruntled husband was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Investigators believe the double murder-suicide in Grant County may have stemmed from a misunderstanding.

Detectives say William McKinney, 46, feared that his 40-year-old wife, Heidi, was having an affair after the couple recently separated. McKinney shot and killed his estranged wife and her friend, 30-year-old Shannon Lowe at a home in Swayzee Friday, before turning the gun on himself.

Heidi McKinney stayed with a female friend at the house on Thursday to get away from her marital problems, police say. Investigators say William McKinney had been spying on his wife, following her to the house.

Investigators say that Lowe came to the Swayzee home the next day to help his friend, Heidi. Both were having marriage troubles and were sharing coffee on a patio when they were confronted by William McKinney, who was carrying a gun.

Police say they have no reason to believe that Lowe, who worked with children in his job with a residential and family services group, was romantically involved with Heidi McKinney, who was a hair stylist at a Marion salon.

"From what we're told, he was trying to help her out through this crisis. He was having marital problems of his own and was reaching out to someone in the same position he was," said Det. Tim Holtzleiter, Grant Co. Sheriff's Department.  

Investigators say an angry William McKinney had it wrong when he parked his car nearby, walked up the block and confronted the two, shooting them in a jealous rage before killing himself.