Couple dead after apparent murder-suicide

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, an accident occurred in a house on Harmony Road.

According to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a call came into 911 at 4:23 a.m. A man gave his address and said he had just shot his wife and wanted to kill himself. Then he hung up.

Sills and his colleagues rushed to the address in the 800 block of Harmony Road, but could not see anyone coming to the door and forced it open.

“When we got inside, we found two victims in bed and two dogs, also in the bedroom; all four were dead,” he said.

He identified the victims as Timothy Brown, 64, and Vicky Brown, 62.

Sills said the two dogs, which appeared to be Chihuahuas, were shot with a .22 rifle while they were in their crate.

“It is quite possible that they were sleeping when they were shot,” he said.

The couple had been shot with a semi-automatic .380 pistol.

The sheriff's office was not aware of any cases of domestic violence at that address, and the neighbor told deputies he did not hear any argument or gunshots.

“But they probably wouldn't have heard them because they were sleeping too,” Sills said.

There were also no signs of a struggle or fight in the apartment, he added. Putnam County Coroner Hollis Harrison said the neighbor told him the couple had just celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary last month.

According to Harrison, the bodies were sent to the GBI crime lab for autopsy.