Dr. George 'Scott' Samson, 54, is said to have told his new wife, Kelly Ecker, 50, that she would 'never get her hands on his money' during the wedding reception at the Ohio Building in Terre Haute on Saturday evening.
According to witnesses, the argument became increasingly bitter when the wedding after-party moved to Samson and Ecker's mansion, with guests deciding to leave at 1.17am on Sunday morning as the fighting escalated.
Three minutes after the final guest departed, Ecker, who is a nurse at the same hospital as Samson, made the first of three terrified 911 calls claiming her husband was going to kill her.
The first two frantic calls to the dispatcher ended abruptly, but moments later Ecker phoned back, her trembling voice pleading for help, before a volley of gunshots rang out and the phone line cut.
Less than half-an-hour later, officers who who responded to the couple's Terre Haute home discovered the body of Ecker, fatally shot in the head and neck and in the basement the body of Samson, who had taken his own life with a 45-caliber semi automatic pistol.
According to Advance Indiana, the reception had been changed from the newlywed's home to the Ohio Building at the last minute and the marquee tent set up in their garden still hauntingly sits outside their home.
Indeed, according to Advance Indiana, police recovered a literal arsenal of weapons from the home, including assault rifles, hand guns and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
'They had just gotten married and something went terribly wrong,' said Vigo County Coroner, Dr. Susan Amos.
'He shot her and then shot himself. We are still in a second autopsy to confirm that.'
Witnesses told the IndyStar that the couple had argued at the end of their reception and the final guest left anesthesiologist Samson's home at 1.17am.
Ecker, a nurse at Union Hospital, phoned 911 at 1.20am after witnesses said their argument about money spiraled out of control.
'The investigation has revealed that there was an verbal argument between the couple toward the end of the reception, which carried over to the after party at the couples' home,' said Vigo County Chief Deputy Sheriff Clark Cottom in an email to the IndyStar.
'Shortly after the last guest left at around 1:17 a.m., Kelly Ecker Samson called 911 reporting that her husband had threatened to kill her.
'There were a total of three very brief 911 calls, which in the first two the caller disconnected.'
Cottom said that Ekcer was found in the bedroom her 10-year-old son from a previous relationship slept in, while Samson shot himself once in the head with a registered gun.
'Deputies did find the female victim inside the child's bedroom deceased,' said Cottom to WISHTV.
Cottom said that Ekcer's son and an elderly couple believed to be Samson's parents were inside the home at the time of the shooting, but were not harmed and escorted out by police when they arrived.
'We received information from the elderly male that the female's husband Scott Samson had retreated to the basement,' said Cottom to WISHTV.
Samson, 54, is a doctor at Union Hospital in Taure Haute and one witness told WISHTV that guests left the wedding party because of the argument that the newlyweds were having.
'They were having some domestic problems at the house. Within a short amount of time guests decided it would be best if they left. Shortly after the last guest left that's when things went terribly wrong,' said Cottom.
When police arrived, they discovered the basement locked and so had to call out the Terre Haute Police Department Special Response Team.
'The remote camera was able to determine he was in the basement, unresponsive,' said Cottom.
Friends such as Brooke Llewellyn took to Facebook to express their grief at the loss of their friend.
'Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine on this day that our time as friends would be cut so short,' wrote Brooke.
'You will forever be remembered by many as the most outgoing and energetic woman'
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