Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pleasant Township, IN: Pleasant Township couple dead in apparent murder-suicide

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP | An estranged husband and wife were found dead Tuesday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, officials said.

Frederick Miller, 59, and Cheryl Miller, 52, suffered apparent gunshot wounds, Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris said.

According to Porter County sheriff's police, officers were called around 3 a.m. Tuesday to a home in the 1200 block of South County Road 200 East, just north of the Kankakee River, for a reported domestic disturbance.

Police believe Frederick Miller threw a makeshift Molotov cocktail through a window in the home where his estranged wife and 19-year-old son were inside. Police said the man was served with a protective order in April and previously removed from the home by police.

Police said the couple's son, J.J. Miller, was able to escape the home and call police. He reportedly told officers he heard several gunshots from near the residence.

Police said when they arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames. Officers reported Cheryl Miller was found dead in the driveway and Frederick Miller was also found dead on the property from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Tuesday morning, only smoldering embers and a charred car remained at the site of the home adjacent to the Kankakee River.

Porter County detectives are heading the investigation, along with the Porter County coroner's office.

Harris said a forensic autopsy is scheduled for today in Mishawaka.

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