Man's suicide shot also kills his sleeping wife

BY STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle

The 70-year-old man who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head early Sunday morning ended up killing his wife with the same bullet, Wichita police said.

The woman's daughter called police when she discovered their bodies at about 1 p.m. Sunday in the 3400 block of South Everett, Lt. Ken Landwehr said.

Gene Whitmore was lying on the bed when he pulled the trigger of the medium-caliber handgun, Landwehr said. The bullet passed through his head from right to left and then struck 66-year-old Betty Whitmore in the head, killing her as she slept.

"I have never worked one like this before," Landwehr said.

There is no indication Whitmore intended to injure his wife, he said. Their bodies were found two to three feet apart.

Investigators think the shooting occurred at about 4 a.m., Landwehr said.

None of the people staying in the house heard the gunshot, he said.

Gene Whitmore had been notably depressed for the past few days, his stepdaughter told police. He had been out of work for more than a year.

From: http://www.kansas.com/2010/05/11/1308186/mans-suicide-shot-also-kills-his.html