Lifelong friend remembers Stephen and Tracey Willetts after New Hanover murder-suicide investigation

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Friends and loved ones are remembering Stephen and Tracey Willetts as compassionate, community-minded people following the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office’s determination that the couple died in a murder-suicide.

Investigators say Tracey Parker Willetts fatally shot her husband, Stephen Larnell Willetts, before taking her own life inside the couple’s Rowsgate Lane home. The two were found dead Thursday after deputies responded when a smartwatch worn by one of the couple detected a fall and automatically called 911.

The sheriff’s office has said the investigation remains active.

For Fuller Royal, the news was almost impossible to believe.

“I’ve been thinking about Steve and Tracy every day,” Royal said. “It’s tough because they were friends—lifelong friends.”

Royal, a retired newspaper photographer, former school teacher and Whiteville Rescue EMT, knew Stephen Willetts long before Tracey entered his life.

“I actually knew Steve before I ever knew Tracy,” Royal said. “We were in middle school together and high school together.”

The two made amateur films together as teenagers, attended church together and later served side by side on the Whiteville Rescue Squad as emergency medical technicians. “Probably our best thing was being on the rescue squad together” Royal recalled.

Royal said Stephen met Tracey through her older brother, who also volunteered with the rescue squad.

Not long after Tracey graduated from high school, the couple married and eventually moved to Wilmington, where they spent decades building their lives together.

Royal, who is also related to Tracey through his extended family, said the couple remained well known and respected in Whiteville even after moving away.

“Both of them were so well liked here,” he said. “Even though they’ve been gone 40 years, they were still well thought of here.”

The tragedy comes just days after what would have been the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary.

Royal also reflected on the tremendous personal loss the family had endured over the years.

According to Royal, their oldest son, Zach, died after serving in the military. About a year later, their younger son, Colby, died from complications of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

“It was just a double hit for a family,” Royal said. “Steve and Tracy lost both of their boys in a little over a year.”

Having worked in emergency services and education, Royal said he has seen many families experience unimaginable grief.

“It’s something people just never, ever get over,” he said.

Despite the circumstances surrounding their deaths, Royal hopes people remember the couple for how they lived.

“Steve and Tracy were two really, really good people,” he said. “They would lend a hand whenever you needed it.”

He described Stephen as someone who never hesitated to help others.

“You could trust your life with Steve because on rescue calls he was the guy you wanted to be the first one to jump into an overturned car to rescue somebody,” Royal said.

He remembered Tracey as someone who cared deeply for those around her and regularly checked on family and friends.

“She was good to people,” he said. “They both loved people greatly.”

Royal said he hopes the community remembers the kindness the couple showed throughout their lives rather than allowing the tragedy to define them.

“I hope people remember them for the goodness they had in their hearts and for the things they did for others,” he said. “They certainly made my life better growing up.”

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing.