2015-11-30 Gisch
Deaths of David and Kendal Gisch – GischMedia Office Shooting
David Gisch, 22, and Kendal Gisch (née Kendal Kuehler), 22, were found dead on Monday, November 30, 2015, inside their office at GischMedia, 5000 S.W. 45th Ave., in southwest Amarillo, Texas. The Amarillo Police Department's Special Crimes Unit ruled the deaths as a murder-suicide.[1]
Incident
Authorities identified the deceased as David and Kendal Gisch, both 22. The two died from what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the upper body, said Special Crimes Unit coordinator Lt. Erick Bohannon in a news release.
Their bodies were found inside the offices of GischMedia after police were called to the building at 10:43 a.m. Amarillo police and the Special Crimes Unit roped off the office and were investigating the deaths Monday afternoon.
Two GischMedia employees discovered the bodies about 10:30 a.m. and then alerted building owner Clark Damon and the police.
Allstate Insurance agent Clark Damon owns the office building and said he rents office space to GischMedia. Damon said David Gisch was the owner of the company and said Kendal Gisch was his wife. Potter County marriage records show the two were married earlier in 2015.
Investigation
Bohannon would not initially say whether the incident was being investigated as a homicide, but said no arrests have been made in connection with the deaths.
"At this particular moment in time, I don't see any need for a full-scale search for a suspect," Bohannon said.
Damon said he was in his office for a couple of hours prior to the discovery, but did not hear or see anything unusual.
"It looks like he shot her and then he shot himself," Damon said.
Autopsy Results
Randall County Justice of the Peace Clay Houdashell ordered autopsies.
APD confirmed on Tuesday that David first shot his wife, then turned the gun on himself according to preliminary autopsy results.
Amarillo Police Department's Special Crimes Unit officially ruled the deaths of David and Kendal Gisch as a murder-suicide.
Background
According to the company website, GischMedia is a search engine optimization and web design company. Damon said the business had been at the location for about a year and a half and said the company had four employees.
David and Kendal Gisch, owners of the search engine optimization and web design company, attended Amarillo College and were involved in The Ranger newspaper and AC Current magazine while studying in the Matney Mass Media program.
Reactions from Friends and Colleagues
Julia Greif, 25, said she was friends with the Gisches and said she had gone to school with them at West Texas A&M University.
"I think it's shocking to everyone and it's almost unbelievable that something like this could happen," she said.
Alec Gardner, 22, also said he went to school with the couple at WT. Gardner said he worked with them at GischMedia for about seven months after he was hired as their first employee in 2014.
"They were two people that believed in me, really, before anybody else did," he said.
He said nothing seemed out of the ordinary when he last spoke to David Gisch about a month and a half ago.
"David and Kendal were always really very self-motivated, very dedicated people," he said. "I thought they would go really far in the world. We've all lost a lot, whether you knew them or not, just because of what they could've done."
Case Timeline
- November 30, 2015 (Monday): Bodies discovered at approximately 10:30 a.m.; police called at 10:43 a.m.
- December 1, 2015 (Tuesday): Autopsies performed in Lubbock; APD confirms murder-suicide ruling
- December 2, 2015: Official announcement that David Gisch shot and killed Kendal Gisch, then shot himself