Coroner Confirms Names of Liberty Shooting Victims

Officials have confirmed the identities of four people — a father, his two sons, and their step-grandmother — who were found dead in two Liberty homes early Friday morning. 

Mark Wayne Hendricks, 52, Marshall Wayne Hendricks, 20, Matthew Wayne Hendricks, 23, and Linda Ann Burns, 64, were all pronounced dead at the scene according to a statement issued by Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley.

The Pickens County Sheriff's Department discovered the bodies in two mobile homes located at 236 and 304 Pinedale Drive in Liberty after responding to a 911 call.

Assistant Pickens County Sheriff Tim Morgan said the emergency call was placed by a relative after she was called by someone at the scene of the shootings.

The coroner's statement has ruled three of the deaths as homicides and one remains under investigation. Earlier reports suggested the shooting was a murder/suicide. Morgan told Patch that it was unclear whether the shooter was among the dead and that investigators are waiting on forensic evidence.

Stephanie Hopkins, Mark Hendricks' niece, said it was hard to believe that her cousin would kill his father, brother, and step-grandmother. 

"I know my cousin Matthew didn't do this," Hopkins said. "Matthew would have never done this."

Hopkins said the family seemed happy and that things were moving in the right direction. Mark Hendricks had recently moved back to the home at 304 Pinedale Road where his younger son Marshall was living.

"He was living in Easley until 3 months ago," Hopkins said. "He moved back to be with his boys." Hopkins said Hendricks was living with Diane Hendricks at her home in Easley. 

"They were all very outgoing," Jason Hopkins said of the father and his sons. "They'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it."

Tammy Powell, a friend of the family said Mark's ex-wife, Susan Hendricks, was being held for questioning by police on Friday. 

Morgan said Susan Hendricks had previously been investigated for killing an intruder at the Pinedale Drive home in 2006 but was never charged.

Kelley said the autopsies will be conducted on Sunday.