Crime scene cleanup crew scours site of murder-suicideCorey Friedman

Three crosses stand in the front yard where Tracy Hedgepath once played with her three young children. The tire swing sways gently in the breeze, and bicycles lay abandoned in the scorched grass outback.

Men in blue jumpsuits walk up the front porch and inside the house. A warning sticker affixed to the front door will be removed when the crime scene cleanup crew leaves.

Five days after police say 25-year-old Austen Blake Minter shot his girlfriend and their three children before turning the gun on himself, a three-man crew from Fagala Biohazard Specialists was called to the home at 1303 Dean Drive outside Dallas. Their job is to clean up the mess Minter left behind.

“It’s a tragedy — even more so with children involved,” said Mark Fagala, founder and owner of the Gastonia-based biohazard business. “Our hearts go out to the family. This is an everyday thing for me, but when it involves children, it tugs at my heartstrings.”

Tracy Lee Hedgepath, 24, Austen Blake Minter II, 6, and Serenity Tyvon Minter, 3, died in the tidy ranch home with Minter. The oldest child, 7-year-old Destiny Miller, was shot in the face and is still recovering in a Charlotte hospital.

Hedgepath had rented the Dean Drive home in the College Park subdivision north of Dallas. The homeowners hired Fagala to remove the stains of violence and render the house habitable once again.

“We’re going to get it back to normal and just make their house safe again,” Fagala said. “This was a terrible tragedy, but these people have put their trust in me, and I’m here to do a job.”

Fagala Biohazard Specialists is certified in hazardous materials handling and cleanup and is licensed by the N.C. Board of Funeral Service. The business also cleans meth labs, sewage backups, flooded buildings and bioterrorism sites.

Mark Fagala said the Dean Drive home would take about four hours to clean.

You can reach Corey Friedman at 704-869-1828