A tragic scene unfolded in Mesa, Arizona, where a married couple in their 90s were found dead in what police are calling an apparent murder-suicide.
According to a news release from the Mesa Police Department, officers responded to a call in the early hours of Thursday, Oct. 16, after staff at an elderly group home and care facility reported two residents who “had been shot and were not breathing.” The facility, located in the 1000 block of W. Mendoza Avenue, was not named by police.
Upon arrival shortly after 4 a.m. local time, officers discovered 92-year-old Jerome Woolums and his 93-year-old wife, Katharine Woolums, inside a bedroom with gunshot wounds to the head. Jerome, found holding a firearm, appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Katharine was still alive when officers arrived and had a pulse. Mesa Fire and Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures before transporting her to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. She later succumbed to those injuries, police confirmed.
Investigators learned that Jerome and Katharine had been married for many years and were residing at the facility to receive medical care. Based on the evidence, police determined the incident to be “an apparent murder-suicide.”
“At this stage of the investigation, evidence indicates Jerome shot his wife, Katharine, before taking his own life,” the department stated. The case remains open pending final results from the medical examiner.
Authorities emphasized that it is still early in the investigation.
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