CAMERON & SARAH PEAKE - 9 & 6 yo - Lexington SC

Authorities release 911 call leading up to murder-suicide

Mar 18, 2011 6:38 PM EDT

LEXINGTON, SC (WIS) - You can hear the desperation grow as a friend tried to get help minutes before a mother and her two young children were murdered.

Dispatcher: Who's he threatening to shoot?

Caller: His girlfriend.

Dispatcher: His girlfriend is there with him?

Caller: No, he plans on going to her house sometime soon. That's why I was hoping to get a unit here to stop him.

Help was on the way, but it was too late.

Within the next ten minutes, four people were dead. Amanda Peake, her daughter, her son and her ex-boyfriend - Chancey Smith - were found dead inside Peake's home on Farm Chase Drive.

Amanda Peake and her children, nine-year-old Cameron and six year old Sarah, had no idea of the menace unfolding in another part of Lexington County. It was being described in a phone call to 911 operators by a man who said he was sitting in a vehicle outside the home of longtime friend, 32-year-old Chancey Smith.

It was about 9:54pm.

Dispatcher: Lexington County 911, state your emergency.

Caller: Uh, I have a friend who's been drinking. I've been trying to talk some sense into him. He is now loading several weapons and about to go to his girlfriend's house. He is armed and dangerous. I heard him loading the guns before I walked out the door.

Dispatcher: What kind of weapons does he have?

Caller: He's got a pistol, a shotgun and a rifle that I know of.

Dispatcher: Where's he going?

Caller: I do not know the address which he's going to because I've only met her once, but he's been drinking all day and has found out that she's...

Dispatcher: What's his name?

Caller: The guy's name is Chancey Smith.

Dispatcher: Chancey Smith?

Caller: He's been drinking all day.

Dispatcher: But where's he going?

Caller: I don't know where he's going. I'm waiting at the end of the road to see if he's leaving.

The caller, whose name has not been made public, said Smith had been "talking about murder-suicide."

Dispatcher: All right and you said he did have all those guns with him correct?

Caller: Yes sir.

Dispatcher: I'm going to stay on the line with you until officers get there in case he decides to do something lse, OK? You say he's still out there. I mean he's still inside, is that right?

Caller: He's still in the house. I hope they get here before he tries to leave because I got a really bad feeling.

But Smith left, heading to Peake's house in his silver Toyota pickup.

The caller followed him and at one point, he noted a sheriff's deputy had passed the truck going the opposite direction.

Smith arrived at Peake's home at 10:07pm and went in.

Maybe the single most frustrating issue is that the caller was not able to tell the dispatcher the address or even the street where Peake's house was located.

Friends organize memorial benefit for murdered mom, kids

Mar 30, 2011

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - It has been two weeks since Amanda Peake and her children were murdered. Deputies say a new boyfriend killed them, and then himself.

Peake's close friends say there's something you can do to help.

They become friends at age 12, and years later, Tiffany Maddox and Amanda Peake became moms. "We went bowling on Mondays together," said Maddox.

"I had two children who said 'can we call Amanda, Sarah and Cameron go bowling?' I'm like, 'baby, we can't.' That really hurts, to know I have to tell my kids that they're gone."

"It's hard," said Maddox. "They're four and two, can't really say someone killed them."

Deputies say the man Amanda had been dating, frustrated after a breakup, shot and killed her and her two kids before killing himself. "They'd broken up a couple of times," said Maddox. "Why was it so different, that's something we'll never know."

In an effort to stay distracted and help Amanda's family with funeral costs, Tiffany and friends came up with this a memorial benefit event.

"There's gonna be live music, food drinks, raffle tickets," said Megan McNeil. "Amanda loved live music - she's always be like, 'Tokyo Joe's playing here,' or 'Villanova's playing here.'"

When the doors open on Sunday, they will also have cupcakes -- Amanda's favorite food -- and face painting. Just as they say she would want it, kids will be included. "They were pretty much inseparable, you could see the love of those kids for their mama," said McNeil. "You tell she was very into them."

The concert is set for Sunday at 2pm, and will be family-friendly. It will be at the Loose Cockaboose near Williams-Brice Stadium. There's also a fund set up for Amanada Peake at Bank of America.