Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, is a safe, picturesque beachside town. It’s a popular family-friendly tourist destination that boasts Southern architecture and small-town charm. But on February 19, 2026, an apparent murder-suicide rocked the community. As 50-year-old Catherine Warrington and 62-year-old David Duffey walked out of a dinner party, Dustin Linsley, 52, reportedly gunned them down. Following the fatal shooting, Linsley entered into an hours-long phone negotiation with police before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It appears Linsley may have had a vendetta against the victims, based on a tumultuous romantic past with Warrington.
The Island Packet reported that the shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. at a home in North Forest Beach. Deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office found Warrington and Duffey deceased on the driveway. License plate readers connected Linsley to the shooting. SWAT units surrounded his apartment building on Promenade Street in Old Town Bluffton.
Following hours of negotiation, Linsley reportedly let a 56-year-old woman leave the apartment unharmed, according to The Island Packet. Around 4:40 a.m., authorities entered the residence and found Linsley dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Warrington had filed a report with the Bluffton Police Department on February 2 regarding Linsley’s behavior, WSAV reported.
“There’s some language in a report that is accurate as far as a description of what threats he made,” Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner said. “Because that was kind of how it was carried out last night.”
Per WSAV, the police noted that Warrington and Linsley lived together in New Jersey prior to moving to South Carolina. They had a tumultuous relationship with a long history of police involvement. Warrington reportedly went on a date with another man on January 30, enraging Linsley.
Police noted in the report that Linsley threatened Warrington and said, “If I can’t have you, nobody will.” He allegedly said, “We have two options, either I kill you, or I will kill you and kill myself,” WSAV reported.
Bluffton resident Tanner Sutphin told WTOC that the news shocked him. “Pretty wild to hear that it happened right here in our town center,” Sutphin said. He added that outside appearances can be deceiving. “You just never know what people are dealing with, and you hate to hear it got to this point, where three lives were lost,” he said.
The deaths remain under investigation, but it appears this was a jealous person who let emotions get the best of him. What a tragedy for everyone involved.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter (domesticshelters.org).
