Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Salt Lake City, UT: Estranged Salina couple die in apparent murder-suicide

A man and a woman are dead after an apparent murder-suicide in the town of Salina on Wednesday morning.

Salina police responded to 289 N. 100 East on a call of a woman shot by her ex-boyfriend, according to Salina Police Chief Greg Harwood.

Officers found 39-year-old Tina Bates, of Salina, and 50-year-old Tracy Hill, also of Salina, dead in a hallway of the home. Police believe Hill shot Bates with a shotgun and then turned the weapon on himself.

"It appears to be a murder-suicide," Harwood said in a release, adding that Bates’ 13-year-old son — who was in the house during the shooting — was confronted by Hill but managed to escape to a neighbor’s house, where police were called.

"He pushed the gun aside, confronted Tracy and punched him in the face several times," Harwood said.

The shotgun discharged again, but it is unclear if Hill was trying to shoot at the boy, Harwood said.

"Investigation indicates that Hill and Bates have dated for several years but recently broke up," Harwood said. They hadn’t had any contact in the past two months, he said.

"We are unclear at this point as to what provoked [the shooting]" Harwood said.

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