news-record.com

GREENSBORO — The day before she shot herself and six others, Mary Ann Holder gave a $10,000 check to Randy Lamb, the man with whom she had an affair.

Guilford County deputies are trying to find out why.

Court documents obtained Tuesday by the News & Record reveal more details about a love triangle that might have figured in Sunday’s shootings, which left Holder and three others dead and wounded three others.

An application for a search warrant said Holder and Randy Lamb, who had been having an affair for about four years, met Saturday at the Walmart on Elmsley Drive in Greensboro. She gave him a check made out to Lamb’s wife, Jennifer, for $10,000, the document said.

Jennifer Lamb said she initiated a civil lawsuit against Holder for alienation of affection, according to the document. The sheriff’s office said the lawsuit never reached the court system. The check could have been an out-of-court settlement, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said Randy Lamb and Holder must have communicated to arrange the meeting, so deputies wanted to get cellphones, computers and any other communication devices that Randy Lamb may have used to correspond with Holder from the Lambs’ home at 5801 Harvest Springs Drive.

The document also said Randy Lamb had moved from the house to the garage during his affair with Holder. Jennifer Lamb said she and her husband were reconciling, and Randy Lamb ended his relationship with Holder in the recent past.

On Sunday morning, Holder shot Randy Lamb in the elbow and shoulder in the parking lot of GTCC’s aviation center on Regional Road, the sheriff’s office said.

Before killing herself in her black Ford Explorer on Remora Road, Holder also fatally shot her son Dylan Smith, 17; son Zack Smith, 14; and niece Hanaleigh Suttles, 8. Dylan died Sunday in their home at 923 Cocoa Drive. Hanaleigh and Zack died Monday at Moses Cone Hospital.

Holder also shot her nephew, Ricky Suttles, 17, and Dylan’s girlfriend, Makayla Woods, 15. They were both in critical condition late Tuesday night.

Woods’ aunt, Christy Stanfield of Climax, said Woods is an outgoing, “heart-filled” teenager who grew up playing with her three daughters.

Stanfield said she can’t make herself enter Woods’ hospital room, but she tries to console Woods’ mother and her sister. Stanfield did not want to identify them by name.

“I’m mad,” Stanfield said. “It broke my heart. I’m devastated. I don’t understand what happened.”

Stanfield said Woods is in very poor condition. She has undergone at least two surgeries, and a bullet was removed from her brain.

Stanfield said she wonders what could make a person shoot children.

“I don’t care what was going on with your life. ... You can get help,” she said. “You don’t have to devastate all these lives.”

The sheriff’s office is trying to uncover what led to the shootings Sunday.

Court filings helped reveal the complicated relationship between Holder and the Lambs.

In February, Jennifer Lamb filed a temporary restraining order against Holder, saying Holder had thwarted the Lambs’ attempts to reconcile by repeatedly calling, emailing and texting.

Officials dismissed the case because neither woman appeared for a court hearing in late February.

In July, Holder obtained a temporary restraining order against Randy and Jennifer Lamb.

Holder said Jennifer Lamb made numerous phone calls to her. Holder’s restraining order against the Lambs expired July 11.

Mark Couch, a Holder family friend, said Holder’s oldest and only surviving child, Christina N. Smith, is being strong under the circumstances. The young woman is dealing with funeral arrangements and caring for her cousin Shianne Suttles, a 9-month-old whose mother died in March.

Smith spoke to about 150 people at a candlelight vigil at Pleasant Garden Baptist Church on Tuesday night, he said.

Her message, Couch recalled: Cherish the time you have with your relatives and tell them you love them.

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com