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Bodies Found Inside Douglas County Home Identified


DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)-The Douglas County Coroner has identified the two bodies found inside a home south of Castle Rock on Wednesday morning.

Preliminary results indicate that Amara Wells, 39, and Robert Rafferty, Jr., 49, were victims of homicide. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office does not want the cause of death released to the public because it may jeopardize the case.

bob-rafferty
Bob Rafferty (credit: Facebook)

Rafferty owned the home with his wife, Tamra. Amara Wells is Tamra's sister-in-law.

The bodies were found at about 3 a.m. inside the home on Marlin Way Wednesday.

amara-wells
Amara Wells (credit: Facebook)

Detectives said there are no suspects, but they have some promising leads.

An arrest affidavit for Wells' estranged husband, Christopher Wells, reveal a relationship that spiraled out of control over the last several months.

Neighbors said that Wells and her 6-year-old child had been living with the Raffertys after an ongoing situation with her estranged husband.

"Amara had been living with them since late summer. Again, family sticks together and they were there for her through a difficult situation," said family friend Karen Loucks Rinedollar.

"Restraining someone away from their home and family. Hopefully that's not what caused all this," said Rafferty family friend Wade Goetz.

Court documents reveal that Amara filed a restraining order against Christopher last year. Recently, Amara contacted the Douglas County District Attorney's office with concerns about Christopher's escalating harassment through e-mails and text messages.

In a final message to the DA's office at the end of January, Amara said she was "scared what the next level may be" and that "I am scared to live alone and feel like I am going to be harassed for the rest of my life and I just want this to stop."

Investigators said Christopher Wells was arrested in El Paso County this week, before the homicides happened.

"He was brought to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office on a charge that was unrelated, domestic violence related," said Douglas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ron Hanavan.

Neighbors said Tamra, known to her friends as Tammy, was out of town on business, returning home when she heard about the double homicide in her home. The Rafferty children are away at college.

The people who live in the community still know little about what happened inside the home.

"That's the hardest thing. Do we lock the doors, shut the windows?" said neighbor Leanne Roth.

Investigators continue to process the crime scene.

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