WILLIAMSTON — Family members of a mother slain along with her three daughters remained in shock on Thursday as police released new details in the case, including that the four victims likely were beaten to death with a hammer.

Greenville police on Thursday evening reported that the local medical examiner’s office determined 32-year-old Garlette Rosette Howard and her daughters, ages 6, 7 and 11, died from “traumatic head injury by assault” at 1101 Grovemont Drive, Unit 2A. Police said the autopsy reports will indicate that the weapon believed to have been used in the assaults was a hammer.

Obituaries revealed the identities of the three young girls as 11-year-old Bryana Nicole Carr, 7-year-old Ayona Toone, and 5-year-old Myona Toone. An obituary for Howard indicates she was 33.

Police found the bodies shortly before 8 p.m. on Tuesday when they forced entry at the home after receiving calls from the suspect’s out-of-state family members, who indicated he had made disturbing statements about the welfare of Howard and the girls. Detectives are investigating the possibility that the slayings occurred days before the discovery.

Dibon Toone, 39, Howard’s live-in boyfriend and father of the two youngest girls, was taken into custody late Tuesday in Richmond, Va. He is charged with murder in Howard’s death and is expected to be charged with an additional three counts of murder in the girls’ deaths.

‘No signs’

Howard’s family members said they still were in disbelief on Thursday, especially since the woman and her girls had been in “great spirits” and there was nothing to indicate Toone was violent.

“It came as a big shock,” Sheila Lynch, Howard’s mother, said. “He would always take up time with (Bryana), just like he would do with the others,” she said of Toone. “If he bought one something, he would buy them all (something). He treated them all real good. He had a lot of love in his heart for those kids. That's why I’m shocked. He never showed no signs to me.”

Lynch brushed tears from her face on Thursday as she sat in a conference room at Mercedes Funeral Mansion and Cremation of Williamston to make arrangements for the funerals. She said she last saw Howard about a month ago and talked to her about a week and a half ago.

“She seemed to be doing fine,” Lynch said.

Next to Lynch in the conference room was another daughter, 34-year-old Garlene Howard.

Howard said she found out about the deaths of her sister and nieces from the news.

“I was devastated,” she said. “I couldn't believe it. A whole lot of emotion just went through me that night when I found out about it.”

As the investigation progressed, Howard said a detective told her the four were beaten to death.

Howard said she last saw her sister and the girls about five months ago, right before they moved from Williamston to Greenville.

“She seemed like she was in great spirits at the time before she left and moved away to Greenville,” Howard said. “She seemed like she was in great spirits. The kids were in great spirits. They seemed happy to me.”

Though Lynch and Howard said they had no indication of the violence that would occur, neighbors on Grovemont Drive said the couple fought outside the home in the days before the bodies were found. That alleged altercation was not reported to police. Howard hopes community members take action in future incidents.

“If you notice any signs, a couple arguing outside, just call the cops,” she said. “You don't have to give your name, call them and let them know there's a disturbance outside.”

Mother was ‘loving, ambitious’

Close in age, Lynch’s daughters attended Williamston High School — now Riverside High School — together. Garlene Howard said she and her sister were involved in a couple of associations at the high school and had a lot of friends.

“I enjoyed going to school with her,” she said. “I enjoyed hanging out with her. She didn't get on my nerves at school at all; she didn't bother me at all. She hung out with her friends.”

Howard described her sister as an ambitious individual who reached the goals she set for herself.

“She went to the Army and she's a veteran,” Howard said. “That’s a great accomplishment for her. She later on used her GI bill to go to college. Her major was medical assistant and she went to work at LabCorp. That was a good goal she accomplished in her life and she did it on her own ... she did. She’s a mother. She was easy to talk to. Everybody loved her. She was friendly.”

Lynch recalled the times her daughter brought the three girls by to visit.

“We just enjoyed sitting there, watching TV,” Lynch said, her voice trailing off in thought.

“She was a wonderful person; whatever she could do for someone she would do it,” Lynch said. “She was a loving mother. She worked hard and she really truly loved her children, and she loved me and she loved her sisters and her brother.”

Last conversation

The oldest girl’s father, Tracy Carr, was with Lynch and Garlene Howard on Thursday at the funeral home. He said he last talked to Garlette Howard on Saturday. They discussed school uniforms.

Carr said he and Howard did well with co-parenting and she called him anytime Bryana had an issue at school and was good about keeping him informed of what was going on in their daughter’s life.

Their last conversation was nothing out of the ordinary: he and Howard discussed purchasing five uniforms for Bryana, with each pitching in and buying about half.

Carr said there were no signs she needed help, but one thing sticks out in his mind. Howard kept repeating herself, something he said she did not typically do. She asked him multiple times how many uniforms he planned to buy.

“She kept repeating the same questions over and over again,” Carr said. “I don't know whether that was code or what. That was kind of odd. It didn't sit well with me.”

Carr said he told Howard to give him a call back when she found out the school colors. That call never happened.

Early Wednesday, Carr was heading to work when his wife called and told him an officer and two chaplains were at their Virginia home.

“I'm thinking, ‘Why are police coming, calling me at 4 o’clock in the morning?’” Carr said. “So I turned around and came back, and that's when they told me to have a seat and they informed me my daughter had passed away. At the moment, it didn't seem like it hit me then. I broke down and cried. I wept, but it seemed like it didn't hit me then. All of a sudden when they left I didn't know what to do.”

‘You never know’

The last time Carr saw Bryana was on Father’s Day. He said she often stayed with him during the summer and participated in a club that focused on community service. Carr planned to take her to Washington, D.C., for her 12th birthday on Aug. 25.

Though the youngest girls were Howard’s and Toone’s, Carr said he occasionally would speak with them by phone when he was talking to his daughter. Carr said his mother also bought Bryana’s sisters Christmas gifts.

Carr said he had met Toone, and they would see each other at Bryana’s basketball games.

“He seemed like he didn't have any signs of a person being crazy,” Carr said. “I did my background check, and I did know he had something in his past, but we all make mistakes in life.”

Carr wanted to give Toone a chance but still remained cautious, asking Bryana on a consistent basis if Toone had touched her or done anything wrong. Carr said Toone wanted him to quit asking because it was putting things in Bryana’s head.

“I never had no problems with him,” Carr said. “I spoke with him a couple of times. It's just a shocking thing that he did this.”

Carr said he hopes justice will be brought in court and he believes Toone should receive the death penalty.

He said he hopes the tragedy will push fathers to keep in frequent contact with their children.

“Just spend time with your children,” he said. “Love them, kiss them, because you never know when it's their last day.”

Contact Sharieka Breeden at 252-329-9567 and sbreeden@reflector.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShariekaB.

GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/garlettehoward4