Murder-suicide suspected after N.H. couple found shot

November 16, 2009|Associated Press

DERRY, N.H. - A couple in their 70s who had been suffering health problems were shot to death in their home yesterday in an apparent murder-suicide.

Police officers responding to an emergency call before dawn at a large mobile home in a community for people over age 55 found the retired couple inside.

Claude Roberts, 76, was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the state attorney general’s office said. His wife, Judith, 73, was nearby and was suffering from a gunshot wound to her head.

She died hours later at a Massachusetts hospital.

The couple, who lived alone, had three children.

The shootings apparently were related to their unspecified health issues, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin said.

Neighbors didn’t hear the shootings at the couple’s double-lot home, which is like two single-level mobile homes put together, he said.

Autopsies were to be performed on the husband in New Hampshire and on the wife in Massachusetts.