Shortly after 3:00 a.m. on February 24, 2025, gunfire in a Columbia, Maryland neighborhood led police to a home on Red Haven Road where 65-year-old Barbara Stokes and her husband, 78-year-old Jack Dee Stokes, were found dead on the second floor with fatal gunshot wounds to the head. Responding officers found the couple’s 33-year-old grandson, DiAngelo Smith, sitting in a vehicle outside the residence with a gun and took him into custody at the scene.

A witness who had been inside the house reported seeing Smith point a gun at his grandfather and hearing a gunshot; that witness fled the home—possibly by jumping from a window—and was not physically harmed. Another child was found in the car and reported safe. Smith was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and additional related charges and is being held without bail. Authorities describe the case as a domestic-related homicide; the motive has not been released.

Neighbors remember Barbara and Jack Stokes as kind and friendly. If anyone knew the Stokes family or has information about the early-morning events on February 24, please share what you know.