VIDEO: A Reaction From Those Affected by the Death of Mathiston Couple

WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI News) – The deaths of a couple found dead in their home on the outskirts of Mathiston is still under investigation from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

Firm details are still not being released, but it is widely believed the deaths are going to be a murder suicide.

The two have been identified as Carl and Glenda Nickels.

Mr. Nickels was a retired pastor from Hebron Baptist Church, which lies on the same road as the Nickel’s home.

We were able to talk with their next door neighbor, and he shared the impact that the couple had on not just him but also the community.

In the Bible Belt, finding a good, Christian family is not hard to do, but the Nickels were special.

“He sat there and gave the answer to whatever problem that you had in life,” said Gerry Holland, long-time neighbor to the Nickels.

On Sunday around 11:15 a.m., police responded to reports of gunfire on Clarkson road.

When arriving at the scene, both Carl and Glenda Nickels were found dead.

The shock in the community shows the influence they had, especially on Holland.

“Brother Carl has been a mentor for me,” said Holland. “Several years back, I went through some issues in life, and I needed somebody to guide me. For over a year, he as able to guide me, and every day he would sit there and talk to me about what the Lord would do if I’d sit there and turn my life back over to God. I sat there and did it.”

Holand says all you had to do was witness the marriage of the couple to see the love they had for everyone.

“His wife? You can’t ask for no better person than what she was. From the time she got up in the morning to the time they went to bed, she took care of him. They loved each other,” Holland exclaimed.

Holland says failing health was taking a toll on a couple used to living life to its fullest

“A week or so ago, I had the privilege of stopping by there and talking to him, and he had gotten to the point where he was in a wheelchair,” remarked Holland. “He couldn’t go out there to his shop and work like he had been accustomed to. He was confined to a little, small room that he had built years ag, from what I understand to be his ex-wife. He was confined to that room.”

Though there are questions that have not been answered yet, the community will remember the Nickels for who they were.

“You know, we all go through things in life, but that is a good family down there,” said Holland. “That’s as fine a family as anybody could ever sit there and want to have as a neighbor.”

Autopsy reports will confirm if indeed the deaths are a murder suicide as suspected.