Kenneth Booth, left, and Lexi White.

An incident in early September, which appeared to be a murder-suicide, took the lives of two Cullman County Sheriff’s Office employees vacationing together in Orange Beach, Ala.

Statements from law enforcement indicate that at approximately 2:45 a.m. the morning of Sept. 7, CCSO K9 Patrol Deputy Kenneth Booth Jr., 28 shot and killed Dispatch Supervisor Lexi White, 23, after becoming engaged in an argument.

According the the CCSO, the two were involved in what was described as a “dating relationship.”

Investigations Lt. Trent Johnson with the Orange Beach Police Department released the following statement to The Times on Sept. 7:

“When [OBPD] officers arrived, they located Lexi White and Kenneth Booth Jr. deceased from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Preliminary investigation indicates that Mr. Booth shot Ms. White Multiple times and then shot himself.”

CCSO Communications Director Chad Whaley told The Times Booth did not have any prior complaints filed against him and had not been the subject of any previous disciplinary action. Whaley also said Booth had not displayed any type of behavior to indicate he was capable of this type of violence.

A wrongful death lawsuit, filed by White’s father acting as the administrator of his daughter’s estate on Sept. 29, alleges that Booth was highly intoxicated at the time he shot and killed White and himself. White’s father, Joshua Brett White, is seeking punitive damages from multiple parties in the Orange Beach Area including the owner/operator of Al’s Liquor, Tobacco and Wine, Wolf Bay Seafood and Steak and Walmart. “The individual or entity who is named as the personal representative of the Estate of Kenneth Booth Jr.” is also listed as a defendant in the suit.

Walmart was dismissed from the lawsuit by the plaintiff Monday, Dec. 11.

Johnson told The Times on Tuesday, Dec. 19, that neither autopsy or toxicology reports had been returned from the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, leaving him no evidence to either confirm or deny any specific level of intoxication.

Johnson said he would be able to provide more details on the events leading up to the shooting once the case has gone before a Baldwin County Grand Jury, but was unable to offer an estimated timeline for when this may occur.