Moline, IL: Moline police report apparent murder-suicide

Dustin Lemmon | Posted: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 12:35 pm


Moline Police are investigating the deaths of an elderly couple found in a 2nd Street home in Moline this afternoon. (Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES)

Two people were found dead today at 2507 2nd St. in Moline.
Moline police say the deaths of a couple found in the basement of their home Wednesday morning appear to be the result of a murder-suicide.
Moline Police Detective Scott Williams said officers were called to 2607 2nd St. around 10:30 a.m. for a welfare check and found two deceased elderly people inside.
An Illinois State Police crime scene investigator was on the scene, and the Rock Island County Coroner’s office was called, Williams said. Further details were not immediately available from police, and the investigation is ongoing.
Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson confirmed Wednesday that his office was investigating the deaths with the Moline police. He was not releasing the names of the victims.
Lewis Viviani, who lives two doors down from the home, identified the couple as Virgil and Elizabeth Poling.
Viviani said he was weeding his yard Wednesday morning when a neighbor pointed out that newspapers had been piling up at the door at 2607 2nd St. since Sunday. Viviani said they hadn’t seen their neighbors since Saturday, when they held a yard sale.
Viviani said they could see a car in the garage, so he contacted relatives of the couple, who said they hadn’t heard from the couple since Saturday. Viviani said the woman who died is his son-in-law’s aunt.
Viviani said the woman’s son arrived and along with neighbors, they knocked and received no answer. Police were called and entered the house through a window. A short time later, they came out and said they found the couple dead in the basement, both shot and with the gun still in the man’s hand, Viviani said.
Viviani said the couple had arguments in the past, but nothing that escalated to the point of police being called.
He said the news was shocking. He and his wife had lived two doors down from the couple for 25 years.
“I couldn’t believe he would do that,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable.”