An elderly couple in Washington state who said they couldn’t afford medical care was found dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office received a call Wednesday morning from a yet to be named 77-year-old man who told the dispatcher that he was going to shoot himself. He said he had prepared a note with “information and instructions,” according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. The man ended the call after he said, “We’ll be in the front room.”
When law enforcement arrived at the home near Ferndale a little after 8:30 a.m., they set up a perimeter, and a crisis negotiator attempted to make contact with the residents via phone and loud speaker. After an hour, deputies used a robot-mounted camera to look inside. They found the man dead of a gunshot wound lying next to his 76-year-old wife who was also dead of a gunshot wound.
“Several notes were left citing severe ongoing medical problems with the wife and expressing concerns that the couple did not have sufficient resources to pay for medical care,” the sheriff’s office said.
Two dogs were also found inside the home and were turned over to the Humane Society. A number of firearms were removed from the home and impounded by deputies.
Sheriff Bill Elfo expressed sadness over the deaths and urged residents to call for help before taking such drastic action.
“It is very tragic that one of our senior citizens would find himself in such desperate circumstances where he felt murder and suicide were the only option,” Elfo said. “Help is always available with a call to 9-1-1.”
