THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9503020512
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Briefs
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
An elderly man and his wife were found shot to death in their apartment Wednesday morning. Police are investigating the case as a murder-suicide.
Edna K. West, 67, and Charles T. West, 73, were found at the Winterhaven Apartments at 12630 Nettles Drive by a family member, said R.J. Kipper, a police spokesman. The bodies were discovered about 9:30 a.m.
Kipper would not say how many times the Wests had been shot, but he said Edna West's body was found in the living room and her husband's body was found in another room of the apartment. Kipper said a .38-caliber handgun also was found in the apartment.
Initially, police investigated the case as a double homicide. They changed their focus Wednesday.
Friends and neighbors said the Wests had been in ill health for several years. Rosemary Allen, a Winterhaven resident, said Edna West had suffered several strokes and Charles West had terminal cancer.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SUICIDE by CNB