Child Finds Stepmother Dead After Domestic Violence Turns Deadly | Clifford Torrell Noel Jr

At around 7:30pm on October 30, 2025, a young girl walked into her home in Pontiac, Michigan and found something no child should ever have to see. Her stepmother, 33 year old Latrice Shanna Harper, was dead on the couch from a single gunshot wound to the head. Welcome LaMs. Welcome to Love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide. Your midweek Mini here with me, Ky, and this is actually very mini. However, I wanted to bring this case to the forefront because we’re going to talk about one of the effects of domestic violence. But before we begin, don’t forget to subscribe to Love and Heartbreak to Homicide on whatever platform you’re currently listening to me on so you don’t miss another case. In the meantime, let’s get into this. Mini Latrice and her longtime live in boyfriend, 41 year old Clifford Terrell Noel Jr had been together for about 10 years. Together they were raising five children ranging in age from 4 to 15 years old. According to investigators, everything that happened that night started with an argument between the couple and ended with a murder. About 15 minutes after Latrice’s body was discovered in Pontiac, officers in nearby Bloomfield Township were called to an area of Square Lake Road near Telegraph Road. When police arrived, they found Clifford, quote, slumped over behind the wheel of a car from a self inflicted shot from an AR style rifle. Now, he was still alive when officers found him and was rushed to a local hospital, but he later died from his injuries. Thankfully, the kids were not inside the home during the shooting. All five children were later found unharmed at a motel in Rochester hills. By Friday, October 31, Child Protective Services had already stepped in to arrange placement for them. Sheriff Michael Bouchard of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying, quote, it breaks my heart when relationships turn violent. If you’re in an abusive one, get help. There are people and groups ready to guide you to safety. Because Clifford died from a self inflicted gunshot wounds, there will be no arrests, no trial, and ultimately no answers as to why this happened. This case shows how common murder suicides involving domestic relationships continue to be in the United States. According to statistics cited by the Violence Policy center, nearly 1,200Americans die in murder suicides each year. Nine out of 10 involve a firearm and in nearly two thirds of those cases, the victim is an intimate partner of the shooter. In this case, that reality now falls on five children who lost both the people raising them in a single night. Now, instead of going home to their parents, those children are being placed through CPS while their Family tries to process women. What happened on October 30th. Selfish people don’t consider their actions and how it doesn’t just affect them, but everyone involved, children included. And hearing about cases like this, I think it’s important to talk about domestic violence for a minute, because a lot of people hear argument or domestic dispute and picture two people just yelling at each other. But a lot of the time, there’s way more going on behind the scenes before things, things ever become physical. It can start with controlling behavior, Jealousy, isolation, um, intimidation, threats, monitoring phones, controlling money, or making someone feel like they constantly have to keep the peace just to avoid setting the other person off. And when that behavior keeps escalating, it can turn dangerous fast. A lot of people ask, you know, why didn’t they just leave? Literally? I’ve asked that question before. But leaving isn’t always simple, especially when there’s children involved, financial dependence, fear, emotional manipulation, or years of someone tearing down your confidence. I have learned this through the six years of doing Love and murder. And I humbly ask anyone who I said, why didn’t you just leave to forgive me because I didn’t know. I didn’t consider. And listening to other cases where, um, they talk about, it’s not that easy to leave. But tell people to find someone to talk to. At least talk. That’s the way to go. This is what I’ve learned. And I know there are some people out there with the same thought process as me as my past thought process. And this is why I like to talk about domestic violence. Let people understand. Let’s let people who are involved in it understand. Let people who know people who are involved in it understand. This is why I bring these cases. And it’s interesting to note that statistically, the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is usually when the victim tries to leave. That’s why getting help and making a safe plan is so important. That’s why at least taking the first step and talking to somebody is so important. So if you’re in a relationship where you feel scared, controlled, threatened, or like you’re constantly walking on eggshells, that is not something to ignore. Walking on eggshells to make sure the other person stays calm, to make sure your house stays peaceful, to make sure there’s no tension in your house. I’m sorry, but walking on eggshells is tension. It’s just tension for you that is a sign of domestic abuse. So talk to somebody. Reach out to family, a trusted friend, an advocate, a counselor, or if you have none of Those you can reach out to a domestic violence organization. Even if you’re not ready to leave immediately, having support and a safety plan matters. And if someone listening knows somebody in a situation like this, sometimes the best thing that you can do is just be a safe place for that person. Just be their safe person. You know, a lot of victims already feel isolated or embarrassed and judgment usually pushes people further into silence. Now in the U.S. the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24. 7 and you can contact them at 1-800-799-7233. That’s 1-800-799- 7233 and there are also text and chat options available for people who can’t safely make a phone call. You can also visit my site for more resources. Murderandlove.com that’s loveandmurder backwards. Murderandlove.com because cases like this don’t usually come out of nowhere. Most of the time there were warning signs long before it reached this point. What are your thoughts on this case and what are your thoughts on domestic violence? If you have gone through it before or you know someone who’s gone through it before and they got out, leave your tips, leave your advice below. It can help somebody, even if it’s just one person. So sound off in the comments below. And if you want to hear about another case of how domestic violence led to a murder and uh, the person’s response to that, the after effects, and you know, getting advice on leaving, then join the Patreon. There’s a bonus chyrantz in there where I talk about actress Charlize Theron’s bout with growing up in that environment and what she had to say about it because some of the aspects that she brought forth is sometimes something that you don’t even think about. So join the Patreon. Patreon.com uh, loveandmurder that episode was released under our Sing Like a Bird tier. So go ahead and just go to the Patreon patreon.com loveandmurder Sign up for that tier. You’ll get that bonus episode. Plus you’ll get all past bonus episodes that we’ve had from that tear on down for the last six years. So you have a plethora of bonuses to listen to in the Patreon under that tear. Patreon.com uh, loveandmurder and don’t forget, by signing up to our Patreon, you do become a voice of the victim. You do help Love and Murder remain on the air and remain listener funded. So thank you so much for the support. Thank you so much even for thinking about giving support. And that is all I have for this midweek. Mini. I told you it was going to be a Mini. Thanks for listening. Thanks for your support. And I will see you in the next episode. Bye.

Since you listened to this case, maybe you’d be interested in:

Resources for Mental Health, Domestic Violence, and Abuse Support
https://murderandlove.com/resources-for-mental-health-domestic-violence-and-abuse-support/

Midweek Mini | Domestic Abuse Counselor Arrested for Domestic Abuse | The Case of Jayne Rudd
https://murderandlove.com/midweek-mini-domestic-abuse-counselor-arrested-for-domestic-abuse-the-case-of-jayne-rudd/

An Important Conversation About the Hidden Reality of Male Domestic Abuse – The Case of Alex Skeel
https://murderandlove.com/an-important-conversation-about-the-hidden-reality-of-male-domestic-abuse-the-case-of-alex-skeel/ 

Sources: (what the sources say)

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2025/11/01/pontiac-couple-in-decade-long-relationship-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide-5-kids-left-behind/

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/pontiac-couple-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide/

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2025/10/31/oakland-county-couple-in-10-year-relationship-found-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide-sheriff-says/

https://crimesolverscentral.com/homicide/184845