Winston-Salem police worked yesterday to pin down what they believe led John Gallaher III to kill a longtime friend and a woman he hardly knew.
Detectives were working on a timeline from the moment of the double homicide back to what the trio had been doing that day, police Capt. David Clayton said.
"We'll present all that in court," Clayton said. "I will say this: The motive is unclear right now. The why is unclear, and the motive is just unclear, period."
A medical examiner was scheduled to do autopsies on both victims yesterday, but he did not return phone messages. Police have said that Lori Fioravanti, 24, and Sean Gallagher, 23, were both shot in the head; they have not said how many times.
Gallagher's family declined comment yesterday, and his wife, Heather, could not be reached.
Fioravanti family members said they were too distraught to talk to reporters, and said they were busy trying to schedule a funeral Mass.
Gallaher's family could not be reached yesterday.
Gallaher made a first appearance in Forsyth District Court yesterday morning. Judge Victoria Roemer read the charges against him and informed him about the maximum penalty -- death -- before asking if he had an attorney.
Gallaher has hired Walter Holton, said Amy Byrd, an attorney in Holton's office who appeared on Holton's behalf because he is on vacation.
Holton was the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina during the Clinton administration, and is active in local Democratic politics.
Gallaher's grandfather, John Gallaher Sr., was a prominent figure in local Democratic politics from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Fioravanti and Gallagher were killed in the house where the elder Gallaher lives with his grandsons, John and Alex. It is at the end of Graylyn Place Lane, a quiet, private street of gated white-stucco homes valued at well over $500,000.
Police have not filed any search warrants in the case because they have consent from the Gallahers to search the house. Officers seized computer towers and other items, but Clayton wouldn't say whether they recovered the gun used in the killings.
A judge has sealed the 911 tape in which, according to police, the younger Gallaher called to report the shootings.
Gallaher has three handgun permits, all obtained since 2005. He also has a concealed-handgun permit. He has no criminal convictions on his record, according to a search of North Carolina court documents.
Gallaher and Gallagher have been friends since middle school and went to Reynolds High School together, friends said.
In recent years, Gallagher worked at the Olive Garden restaurant on Hanes Mall Boulevard, where he met Fioravanti. Gallaher had gone to Greensboro College and graduated this spring.
Friends described Fioravanti as a bubbly girl with an infectious good mood.
"She kept everyone around her happy," said Kim McManus, a friend.
Gallagher is survived by his wife and two young daughters. Kayley, 3, lived with the Gallaghers and Heather Gallagher's son.
Aly, 2, lives with her mother, Erin Goodman. Court records show that Gallagher had started visiting his daughter regularly since June in an arrangement that would have included more visitation time starting this fall.
Gallaher; his younger brother, Alex; and Sean Gallagher were all part of a group of close friends, said Johnny Neal, one of the friends.
"I'd say he was a loner with few friends, but we all really cared about him," Neal said of Gallaher. "I admired him for going to school and all the knowledge he had."
Neal said that as far as he knows, there was no rift between Gallagher and Gallaher, and that Gallaher knew Fioravanti only briefly, through Gallagher.
"If there was one thing I could ask John, it's just, ‘Why?'" Neal said. "He was your best friend."
■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.
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