Manayunk, PA: Cops: Woman shot dead by her husband in Manayunk

Neighbors on Markle Street in Manayunk knew Gregory Mitros and his wife, Lynda Karlin-Mitros, as a generally happy couple and couldn't remember when - if ever - an argument between them had gotten out of hand.

As police loaded the 64-year-old woman's body into a van after her husband allegedly shot and killed her yesterday afternoon, many sat on a nearby stoop wiping tears, wondering why an apparent dispute ended with gunfire.

Police said the victim had been shot once in the head, near her left eye, and was pronounced dead at the scene by medics about 4:42 p.m.

Gregory Mitros, 52, called police after the shooting and cooperated with officers while being taken into custody, police said.

Lisa Fletcher, the couple's next-door neighbor, said Gregory, a maintenance supervisor at the University of Pennsylvania, attended a cousin's funeral yesterday only hours before allegedly shooting his wife.

Fletcher said Karlin-Mitros had seemed depressed for years and hadn't been herself lately.

"She's been staying to herself," Fletcher said, adding that she had trouble believing that Gregory had acted out of malice or premeditation.

"There's no way; he loved her too much," Fletcher said. "No matter what happens to him, I know he's going end up in a nuthouse. He won't be able to deal with it."

Karlin-Mitros was retired but once worked for Penn Reels, a manufacturer of fishing equipment, Fletcher said.

Gregory was Lynda's second husband, she said, adding that the couple seemed perfect for each other. "When you looked at them, you knew they belonged together," she said.

Neighbors know Gregory Mitros as a generally nice man who was nearly always smiling and whose salt-and-pepper hair was typically stuffed beneath a Phillies cap.

He had blood on his hands when officers arrived, said Capt. John Cerrone, of the 5th Police District, in Roxborough, but he did not appear to be injured.

Cerrone said a large-caliber gun was recovered from the scene, but he could not elaborate on what type of gun was used in the shooting.

After clearing the scene, officials said it looked as if Karlin-Mitros had been shot while walking down the stairs onto the first floor of the house.

Gregory Mitros was being questioned last night by homicide detectives.

"They're both nice people, great people," said Matt Miller, a neighbor, adding that he never knew of any domestic issues between them and had never seen police at the house. "Everyone's just shocked."