Waltham, MA: State Police investigate murder-suicide in Waltham

t Posted by Metro Desk November 12, 2010 08:13 PM
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

WALTHAM -- A man fatally shot his wife and turned the gun on himself inside the couple’s Waltham home at some point between late last night and this afternoon, authorities said.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said tonight outside the couple’s home on Coolidge Avenue that police responded to a 911 call from a neighbor just before 3 p.m. today.

Leone said the bodies of Cynthia Coutoumas and Michael Coutoumas, both 48, were found in the kitchen area of the home suffering from gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.
He said investigators have determined that Coutoumas shot his wife and then himself in an act of domestic violence.

Leone declined to say whether the couple had been having problems and said the investigation is ongoing. He did not say if a firearm had been recovered or where both victims had been shot.

‘‘The only thing that’s for certain is (domestic violence) is not a class issue,’’ he said. ‘‘It could happen anywhere.’’

State Police tonight were coming and going from the Coutoumas residence, a small white home with a gray sport utility vehicle and a fishing boat parked in the driveway.

A landscaping truck was parked in front of the house, and Eddie Falone, 58, who lives around the corner, said Michael Coutoumas owned his own landscaping business.

Falone said his stepson played sports and attended Catholic education classes with one of the Coutoumas’ sons.

He said Cynthia Coutoumas often spoke to him and his wife at athletic and church functions.

‘‘She never said anything was wrong,’’ Falone said. ‘‘Everybody’s surprised.’’

He said the couple lived on Coolidge Avenue for a number of years and there was ‘‘never any trouble.’’

Neighbors said the couple had two sons, John, 21, a student at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and Jimmy, 19, who is enrolled at Springfield College.

John Coutoumas is listed on the Naval Academy wrestling team’s roster. Neighbors said Jimmy Coutoumas wrestles at Springfield College.

Claire Dallaire, who lives across the street from the Coutoumas residence, said Jimmy was seen regularly last summer doing landscaping work around the house. Dallaire also said she was unaware of any discord between the couple.

Authorities brought the bodies of both victims out of the home shortly after 8 p.m. on stretchers and placed them in a waiting van.

The state medical examiner will perform autopsies, Leone's office said.

Globe correspondent Ursula Munn contributed to this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com.