Authorities have identified the two people killed in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide Sunday afternoon in Tuscarawas County.
According to the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, the deceased are April Houston, 53, and Robert Houston, 64. The two were husband and wife and lived at the home located at 2011 Gordon Road NW in Dover Township. The sheriff’s office noted that a previous media release had incorrectly listed Robert Houston’s age as 54 due to a typographical error.
Deputies were dispatched to the residence just after 1:30 p.m. Sunday after a 911 call was made by a woman who was at the home helping prepare for a graduation party. The caller told dispatchers she was inside the house when she heard gunshots and saw that the man who lived there had shot his wife and then himself.
The child for whom the graduation party was being held resides at the home but was not present at the time. The party was set to take place several hundred yards away on the same property and had not yet begun.
Responding deputies found Robert Houston deceased on a bed and April Houston on the floor nearby. Dover Fire personnel attempted life-saving measures on April Houston, who was transported to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Stark County, where she was later pronounced dead.
Detectives with the sheriff’s office, the agency’s crime scene technician, and the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene. Based on early evidence and witness accounts, investigators believe the case is a murder-suicide.
The Tuscarawas County Coroner will determine the cause and manner of Robert Houston’s death, while the Stark County Coroner’s Office will handle April Houston’s autopsy, as she was pronounced dead in Stark County.
The investigation remains ongoing.
