@bahnhoft, we discourage violent content in stories published in our community. You'll notice if you read our community rules, which are prominently visible at the top of The Ink Well community home page, that the very first statement is:

The Ink Well aims to reward diverse forms of imaginative stories, from literary fiction to genre fiction to creative nonfiction. However, we ask that you avoid gore and violence.

We are aware that some violence has a place in literature, but when there is no point to it, then it's what they call "gratuitous violence." The couple had no money so they were just randomly murdered and left to die. That is pointless.

For more information see our article, Avoid Violence and Brutality in Stories for The Ink Well.