Christina Chambers was found dead with her husband in an apparent murder-suicide on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Their 3-year-old was found in the home physically unharmed
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Christina Chambers reporting; Christina Chambers, Johnny Rimes and their child.Credit : Christina Chambers/Facebook (2)
The couple found slain in their home earlier this week may have appeared picture-perfect from the outside, but a neighbor says he had noticed something felt off in the last couple of years.
Christina Chambers, 38, a former sports reporter and journalism teacher, was found fatally shot alongside her husband Johnny Rimes Jr., 41, in their Hoover, Ala. home on Tuesday, Dec. 16, according to a statement from the Hoover Police Department.
The couple's 3-year-old child was also in the home but physically unharmed, police said.
Charles Maple, 80, who lives across the street, tells PEOPLE he had grown close to Chambers over the years because of their shared interest in sports.
“I knew them from when they were dating each other to when they got married, they were happy … to an absolute tragic ending,” Maple says.
Maple never saw Chambers express fear for her safety or the safety of her child, but says he “absolutely” believed it when he learned she was killed in a murder-suicide.
In the last two years or so, Maple says, he noted something was different about the couple otherwise known for being a loving pair.
“I just felt something wasn't right,” he tells PEOPLE. “I was aware somewhat, from time to time, I would talk to Christina and … you can sort of read people sometimes but I didn't want to dwell into that,” he says.
His inkling was strong enough that when he saw the police cars lined up outside the couple's home on Tuesday and learned of what happened, it did not surprise him.
“I was so shocked but for some reason, I don't know why, I wasn't totally surprised,” he says. “We don't really know what happened inside that house like many things.”
The couple's 3-year-old appears to have been alone in the house and opened the door to Rimes' father who came to check on them after the family missed a church event, Maple says.
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Chambers had a decorated career as a sports journalist, most recently having worked for WBRC 6 News. She was also a high school journalism teacher, and following her death, the Alabaster City Schools Superintendent Wayne Vickers said in a statement that Chambers “quickly formed meaningful connections with her students.”
“Her dedication to them and to her profession was evident in everything she did,” read the statement, according.
“She had something special about her,” says Maple. “Some people just got it, and she had it.”
Hoover police said in an update on Wednesday, Dec. 17, that they are still investigating the murder-suicide, but did not disclose who was behind the shooting.
A GFM has since been set up in Chambers' honor and to assist the couple's 3-year-old son, Constantine, who “was left without parents.”
“The money raised will be used for his educational expenses and future academic opportunities. By giving, you are honoring her life and helping carry forward the love and dreams she had for her sweet child,” the fundraiser reads.