The incident of two people who were found dead in a vehicle in North Carolina is being treated as a likely murder-suicide by the authorities after preliminary investigation. The scene of the crime was located by the deputies after a welfare check on an empty house in Gales Creek Road in Newport on May 15 morning.
A short while later the deputies discovered the house owner's car in Sam Hatcher Road and Nine Mile Road in Newport. The deputies found the mother and son inside the vehicle. According to the authorities Mark Muench, 55, and his mother Catherine Howard, 79, were found dead inside the vehicle with gunshot wounds to their heads. They were pronounced dead on the scene. The Carteret County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting incident as a murder-suicide.
A suicide note and a handgun
"The driver of the vehicle was in possession of a handgun and a suicide note with an identification card that was attached to his chest," said Detective Sgt. Greg Mason to the local media. The deputies said that the scene indicated that the mother was shot first before the son turned the gun on himself. The motive behind the incident is not yet clear.
Earlier in May, another incident was reported in Madison, Wisconsin, a prominent dentist killed his ailing wife before turning the gun on himself. J. William Walker, 86, killed his wife Carolyn Walker who had a chronic heart condition and advanced Alzheimer's Disease.
The Walkers had a live-in caregiver who witnessed the incident take place inside the Walker residence in 302 W. Decatur Street near downtown. The dentist killed his wife with two shots to the torso with a silver revolver. The motive behind the incident is unknown. The live-in health aide guided the police to piece together the incident.
