SMITHTON, Ill., March 8 (UPI) -- An Illinois couple probably died in a murder-suicide several days before their bodies were found along with that of their dog, a coroner says.
Rick Stone, the St. Clair County coroner, said Donald R. Stephenson apparently shot his wife and dog before turning the gun on himself, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The bodies were found Friday night after neighbors became concerned because they had not seen the couple for several days.
Stone called the deaths "heart-breaking." He said Stephenson, 69, and his wife, Carol, 68, were in their bed together when they died.
"Apparently, Mrs. Stephenson was in bad health and ... after a couple's been together quite a while, they don't want to go on," Stone said.
Stone said the Stephensons had most likely been dead since March 1.
