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A Gaithersburg real estate broker was fatally shot in Virginia early Saturday and his wife's brother was charged with first-degree murder in his death, according to state law enforcement officials.

Joel Tropper, 57, of the 200 block of Gold Kettle Drive was shot once with a handgun around 1:26 a.m. Saturday, according to Maj. John L. Hoover III of the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will conduct an autopsy, he said.

Tropper and his wife were visiting his brother-in-law, Raymond L. Sandifer, and his wife at their home in Hague, Hoover said. Hague is in the Coles Point area of Virginia, north of Richmond near the Maryland border.

Sandifer, 71, was charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting inside an occupied dwelling and reckless handling of a firearm, according to Hoover. Tropper was shot in Sandifer's home, he said.

Sandifer is being held without bond in Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw. The investigation is continuing, Hoover said.

Alice Tropper said Tuesday that her husband and brother had a good relationship and that she believed the shooting was an accident. She and her sister-in-law were asleep when the incident occurred, she said. They awoke to find Joel Tropper slumped in a chair and Sandifer attempting to turn the gun on himself, she said.

Alice Tropper said her husband of eight years enrolled in real estate classes five years ago because he was unhappy with his job running a tow truck company. He quickly developed a passion for the work, she said.

"It was just a great fit," she said.

Joel Tropper was the brother of one of Alice's friends, she said, and though they'd known each other for more than 30 years, they only became close after he moved to the area following the death of his father. Joel Tropper enjoyed cooking, grilling and tailgating at Washington Redskins games, and he also had a collection of more than 200 T-shirts — anytime a friend went out of town, he'd ask them to bring one back as a souvenir.

"He was very funny, very outgoing. He loved to talk to people," she said. "Everybody loved him."

Tropper, originally from New York, was an associate broker at Long & Foster in Rockville for three years, according to Teri Turner, an assistant manager at the Fallsgrove office. She remembered Tropper as jovial and funny, a constant presence in the office who mentored new employees.

"It still has not sunk in yet," Turner said Tuesday morning. "I mean, such a tragic and horrifying death…"

Tropper had two stepsons. The funeral is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at DeVol Funeral Home, 10 E. Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg.

"He was always the guy telling the story or the joke," Turner said. "I don't recall Joel ever getting angry."