2 deaths in New Harmony classified murder-suicide

Washington County sheriff's deputies said Lorraine Ide called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher she'd just shot her husband, Robert, and was going to shoot herself.

"It was just a statement given to them and she disconnected," Washington County sheriff's detective Nate Abbott said Tuesday. "They tried to call her back several times, but obviously nobody answered."

Deputies raced to the couple's New Harmony home on Monday morning and found the bodies of 77-year-old Lorraine Ide and her 80-year-old husband, Robert, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. They also found a note explaining the killings, but deputies refused to divulge the contents.

"It gave us quite a bit of information," Abbott said. "It supports what information she gave when she called and reported that she shot her husband and intended to shoot herself."

There was no reported history of domestic violence at the home, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Abbott said investigators also did not believe the slayings were part of a mercy killing or suicide pact.

Authorities are classifying the deaths as a murder-suicide. The couple's bodies have been sent to the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies, which could shed more light on what happened.

"We have a pretty good handle on what took place," Abbott said. "Obviously, we want to get those results back and find out if there's anything else that aided her."

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