BAY VILLAGE, Ohio - New details have emerged in the apparent murder-suicide of a Bay Village couple.
Michael and Mary Rothgery were in the middle of a divorce before their untimely deaths.
According to court records, Mary filed last month and obtained a restraining order against Michael the same day.
On Saturday, Bay Village Police say they were called to 27102 Russell Road at around 3 p.m. Saturday, to conduct a welfare check.
After arriving at the home, officers discovered the body of Michael, 42, in the backyard with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
While searching the inside of the home, Mary's body was located in a TV room. Authorities said she had no "obvious signs of trauma."
Brian Coyne, who lives right behind the Rothgery's home, told Fox 8 News he heard what sounded like "firecrackers" or "gunshots" early on Saturday morning.
Thinking that he was only dreaming, Coyne went back to sleep. But later that day, the reality of what he really heard was confirmed by police presence and a peek in his neighbor's backyard.
"Once I saw over the fence, I said, 'Oh, I know what that is. I kept the wife away, I kept the kids away, I said, 'you guys don't want to go in the backyard,'" Coyne said.
And although he didn't know the Rothgery's well, Coyne said he's horrified that such a situation could occur in a tight-knit community like Bay Village.
"It's certainly disturbing. I didn't expect it in the town or in the township at all."
The couple had two young children, who were found unharmed with relatives in Lorain County.
A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Coroner said Mary, 42, died from asphyxiation and Michael died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Additional details were not immediately available.
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