LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville man died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot after police say he killed his estranged wife and her mother in Lebanon Monday morning.
According to Lebanon Police officials, 36-year-old Shaun Varsos, armed with a shotgun, broke into the home of Deborah Sisco on Whispering Oaks Drive around 7:30 Monday morning. Sisco is the mother of 31-year-old Marie Varsos. Police say Shawn Varsos shot and killed both people in the home.
Police believe Shaun Varsos was shot and injured during the incident and then fled in a rented Nissan Pathfinder. He was later found dead in West Nashville.
Police said Varsos was traveling in a rental vehicle with a Florida tag. Investigators tracked the SUV into Davidson County and later to his home on Beech Bend Drive, which is located in the Bellevue area.
Metro Police Spokesperson Don Aaron said officers found him in the parked vehicle around 9:20 a.m. He was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Aaron said at least one gun was found in the SUV, which will be processed for evidence.
BREAKING: Shaun Varsos, 36, the suspect in this morning's double homicide in Lebanon, TN, is deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found near his home inside an SUV on the side of Harpeth Knoll Rd in Bellevue. pic.twitter.com/Mz2ltHwOSj
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) April 12, 2021
Lebanon police called the shooting a "domestic situation that escalated." They said all three victims had been involved in a domestic situation over the past several months and had been involved in court battles.
According to records, Varsos' wife, Marie, pressed charges that same day. Metro Police officers tried to find him to arrest him on the charge but couldn't locate him.
She filed for divorce on March 4, 2021. On March 10, he was charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
Shaun was out on bond for those charges. An arrest warrant from that day states that Marie was trying to grab her belongings from the couples shared house, when Shaun refused access. Marie says Shaun picked her up and put her on the front porch, while at the same time telling her that he wanted to work things out.
When that didn't work, Shaun allegedly began to strangle Marie until she lost consciousness. When she came to, Shaun was going through her pockets, taking her phone and car keys. Shaun then allegedly pulled Marie into the game room where he picked up a hand gun, pointed it at Marie and threatened to kill her, her family and himself. Marie eventually managed to talk Shaun down, before getting Shaun to leave the home.
On Facebook, Shaun left a note saying this (the shooting) was justice for the mental abuse he endured in the relationship. Saying in part, he went after the person who tried to kill him.
We also learned that there was an order of protection hearing scheduled for late March that was later rescheduled at Shaun's request to April 19.
The manhunt also prompted two Metro Nashville Public Schools to be placed on precautionary lockdown, but that lockdown has since been lifted.
All lockdowns have been lifted.
— Metro Schools (@MetroSchools) April 12, 2021
Editor's Note: A clerical error on the MNPD incident report stated Marie Varsos didn't press charges against her husband nine days after the domestic incident. MNPD said it was an error and that Varsos did in fact press charges the same day as the incident. The article above has been corrected to reflect that.
