Monday, April 9, 2012

Hopkington, MA: Hopkinton couple died in murder-suicide, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. says

HOPKINTON — A 43-year-old man shot his 40-year-old wife and then shot himself, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said this afternoon.

Both the husband, Todd Vogel , and his wife, Lori Levangie, are dead, Leone said. The couple did not have any children.

“What we’ve determined is that it’s a murder suicide,” Leone said this afternoon. “The obvious evidence is that Todd Vogel killed her and then killed himself.’’

The prosecutor spoke to reporters outside 141 Hayward St. where the town’s police officers responded at 8:51 a.m. after a co-worker of Vogel found two bodies, he said.

The shootings stunned the neighborhood, and Vogel’s father, Charles. The elder Vogel said the couple married last November and seemed happy.

Charles Vogel said his son, “was “loved by everybody. He would give you the shirt off his back.”

The elder Vogel said he saw no signs of discord between the couple. Charles Vogel said he saw his son at his Medway home a week ago, and everything seemed normal.

“Right now, I’m just trying to get through the initial shock,’’ said Charles Vogel. “We’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

He said his son had been an electrician since high school and that he graduated from “tri-county,’’ an apparent reference to Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin.

Charles Vogel said he did not know how the couple met, but he said his son had always been a happy, well-adjusted person.

The shootings also stumped authorities, who said there were no signs of a prolonged or significant struggle and there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role in the fatal violence, Leone said.

Police said there had been reports of disturbances at the home, but there were no reports of domestic violence. The bodies were found in close proximity to each other near an exit, authorities said.

“It’s a terrible tragedy,” Leone said.

The home, a one-family Cape, is in a quiet neighborhood beside a lake.

Neighbors, who gathered nearby this afternoon, said the couple was well liked and that there were no signs of any tension between them.

“Just a real community guy, always had a smile on his face,” neighbor Steven Votolato said of Vogel.

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