The family of Ethel Steele, a North Carolina nurse and mother of three, is grieving after Steele and her children were found dead in their Winston-Salem home in an apparent murder-suicide. The Winston-Salem Police Department reported that Steele allegedly shot and killed her two daughters, Sakenya Syretha Steele, 12, and Sakendra Syann Steele, 9, and her son, Sakenlo Shawn Steele, 14, before taking her own life.
Police were alerted to the shooting on April 11 and arrived at the scene to discover the four deceased individuals, all with gunshot wounds. Steele had turned the gun on herself.
Steele’s aunt, Wanda Caton, spoke on behalf of the family, expressing their shock and heartbreak. Caton described Steele as a devoted mother who loved her children deeply and a compassionate nurse who cared for her patients. She emphasized that the events did not reflect the person the family knew.
Steele was a single parent who had been homeschooling her children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The family had been living in the Winston-Salem home for about three years and enjoyed traveling, with trips to New Orleans, Hawaii, and California. Steele’s brother, DMon Robinson, fondly remembered the children as outgoing and full of life.
Robinson had spoken to his sister shortly before the incident, and he was in shock and disbelief about what had happened. The murder-suicide was unexpected and hard to believe.