'A Tragic Case Of Domestic Violence:' Police Investigating Possible Murder-Suicide In Oxford

OXFORD (CBS) – Troopers are investigating the shooting deaths of a man and a woman in an Oxford home on Old Webster Road on Wednesday night. There were three children in the home at the time.

"Appears to be a murder-suicide," said Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early. He said the man and woman appeared to be a couple and that the man shot the woman before shooting himself.

A 13-year-old child who was in the home at the time grabbed a four-year-old child and climbed out the window running to a neighbor's house. That neighbor also called 911. When police responded to the scene, they rescued a 3-year-old child. The children were removed to the Oxford Police Department and will receive trauma-related services.

"The 13-year-old was a pretty courageous young kid," Early said.

Early said both the woman and man called 911 almost simultaneously, and police heard gunshots on that call. They believe the man shot the woman in the kitchen, where she was found, and then went into the back yard where he then shot himself. Both legally had firearms in the house.

Neighbors said they were shocked by the incident.

"They were a young couple just getting started in life," said one neighbor. "Why did something like this happen?"

Early said there were three rottweilers in the home and the police had been called to the home before. On at least one occasion because a dog had gotten loose.
"A tragic case of domestic violence," Early said.