Victim's family finds gun

The woman, who deputies think was shot by her ex-boyfriend, had it in a tote bag under the seat. Investigators don't know if she had it for protection.

By PATRICK COOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001

INVERNESS -- As the family of Meghan Durling recovers from her shooting death, part of an apparent murder-suicide, they were stunned this week to find a handgun in her car.

Daria Durling, Meghan's mother, said her sons found the gun, along with ammunition, in a tote bag under a front seat while they were unloading the car. Not wanting to keep the gun, she turned over the .38-caliber pistol to deputies Tuesday morning.

"We're not sure whose gun it is," Daria Durling said in an interview Wednesday. "We were surprised."

A spokeswoman from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said the department had conducted a short search but not a detailed search of the car.

"We did a cursory for identification purposes only," said Ronda Hemminger Evan, adding that there was no need for a detailed search because Durling's car had nothing to do with the crime.

Daria Durling said Meghan had occasionally gone target shooting with friends and had gone camping with those friends the weekend of Feb. 17 and 18, the two days before the shooting. Her sons found other camping gear in the car as well as the pistol.

Police believe Meghan, who was 20, was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, Troy Scott Truax, 28, in the driveway of his home at 1400 S Alto Verde Drive before he turned the gun on himself. The investigation is still ongoing.

Evan said police did conduct a detailed search of Truax's car, which was parked in the driveway at the time of the shooting.

Meghan Durling's car was also in the driveway. Although her parents have said she was afraid of Truax after their September break-up, her mother said Wednesday that the gun was found in a stored position.

She said the detective who picked up the gun Tuesday said the weapon had been stored in the car legally: under a seat, in a bag and unloaded with the safety on.

As the days pass after the deaths, the Durlings said they are doing as well as can be expected. They said they find strength in Molly Durling, Meghan and Troy's 1-year-old daughter, whom they adopted when the child was born.

"We thank God for her," Daria Durling said. "She's the best of both (Meghan and Troy)."

The calls and words of support from others have been amazing, the Durlings said.

"We're really surprised by all the support and certainly very appreciative of it," Daria Durling said.

She also said the Truax family, who has not spoken publicly about the deaths, had received support as well. The families have talked a few times since the deaths, she said. "(The Truax family) knew Meghan and they were very good to her."

One of the things Durling told the Truaxes about was a request in one of Meghan's obituaries for donations to the Citrus Abuse Shelter Association in her memory in lieu of flowers. She said Wednesday that the request was not to imply that Truax was an abusive boyfriend and that she did not even know if her daughter had ever gone there, but instead was simply because the shelter was a good place to help.

(Donations can be mailed to the shelter at 112 N Pine Ave., P.O. Box 205, Inverness, FL 34451.)

"We just figured it was a worthy cause. Meghan would like it," she said.

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