Persons of interest being investigated

TOWN OF GILLETT - As authorities continue to search for answers in the double murder case, friends and family members of 32-year-old Kimberly Rose and her brother, 21-year-old Leonard Marsh, are coping with the loss.

"I couldn't believe it at first, she's too young," said Steve Rusnak, who used to work with Rose at a bar in northwestern Wisconsin. Friends say Rose and her brother grew up in Park Falls, a city of 2,400 people 200 miles northwest of Green Bay.

"When she walked into a room she made you feel good and had a smile on her face," Rusnak said in a phone interview with FOX 11.

Police say Marsh had only been staying at the home his sister was renting for a short time. Police say Rose had an 11-year-old son who was not at home during the shooting. FOX 11 has learned the boy is a student at Gillett elementary school. Neighbors are also dealing with double murder.

"It's pretty shocking thing here. It's a quiet area, neighborhood. Everybody knows everybody," said Steven Stanek, who lives near the home where the shootings took place.

"It's a tragedy really. You never expect something like this to happen in a little town but I guess it can happen anywhere," Stanek said.

The Oconto County Sheriff's Department denied our repeated requests for an interview about the case. But late Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Mike Jansen released a statement saying: "Persons of interest are still being investigated, and again, I state I feel this is not a random act, and the person or persons responsible had a connection to the victims."

Friends say they can't imagine anyone hurting either of the siblings. Now, they just want justice. "I hope they catch him who ever did it," Rusnak said.

Autopsies were completed on the victims this afternoon, but the results are not expected to be released tomorrow. At this point, funeral arrangements have not been announced.