FERNDALE, Wash. — Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating a likely murder-suicide case in Ferndale.
Deputies responded to the 6500 block of Timmeran Lane at around 8:30 Wednesday morning after a 77-year-old man called 911 and said he was going to shoot himself.
The dispatcher tried to keep him on the line, but he hung up after saying, “We will be in the front bedroom.”
A crisis negotiator attempted to contact occupants of the home for about an hour until deputies deployed a robot-mounted camera.
The man was found lying next to his wife and both were deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.
Sheriff Elfo reports several notes were left citing severe medical problems with the wife and expressing concerns with being unable to pay for care.
“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. Help is always available with a call to 9-1-1,” he says.
