'She didn't deserve this': Neighbors remember wife who died after being stabbed by husband

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A man stabbed a woman to death and then died himself after crashing his car a short time later, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.

Neighbors told ABC11 that the woman, Tanisha Donnette Raeford, 47, escaped her home after having been stabbed by her husband, John Lee Douglas, 53. She ran into a neighbor's home, crying for help.

"They seemed perfect to me. The way he talked about her, it just seemed very perfect. I'm just still in shock," Chacarl Kershaw said.

Investigators arrived in the neighborhood on Shiloh Court near Bingham Drive shortly thereafter, around 8:30 p.m. Monday. Raeford had already died and Douglas had driven off.

About 30 minutes later, investigators found Douglas' body inside his crashed vehicle. He had crashed into a parked tractor-trailer in the area of AB Carter Road and John B. Carter Road.

Records show the couple had been married since 2008 but had only been living in this house for about seven months.

Raeford's friends are crushed by the news. One of them remembered her as a bright spirit with lots of talent.

"You could pretty much look at her and see who she was, how she carried herself. She was a businesswoman," Makesha Melvin said. "She was quiet; she didn't bother anybody. She went to church. You could tell she was spiritual. She was just a loving person and she didn't deserve this."

Fayetteville Police Department said the investigation into what happened remains open and ongoing.

Anyone with further information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at (910) 483-8477.