Coolidge police say the shooting deaths of three people along a rural road appear to be a case of murder-suicide.
Police said 75-year-old Francisco Renteria Valenzuela and married couple 45-year-old Reyna Idalia Renteria and 57-year-old Everardo Verduzco, were found dead on Wednesday. All suffered gunshot wounds and a handgun was found by Verduzco, who was married to Rayna Renteria.
Coolidge Police Sgt. Mark Tercero says interviews with family members of the deceased suggest there was a marital dispute that may have led to the deaths. A final determination of the cause of death will be made after investigators conduct ballistic tests.
"They were going through some marital issues," Tercero said. "She recently broke off the relationship, which I believe led up to the incident."
He said Valenzuela traveled from his home in Mexico to try to help the couple reconcile.
"I believe this is somewhat of a murder-suicide," Tercero said. "I can't commit to that yet, because I don't have the ballistics test back that will provide more information. But we still do not believe there are any outstanding suspects."
Pinal County Supervisor Steve Miller discovered the bodies while driving, The Casa Grande Dispatch reports. He said he called 911 thinking there had been some sort of car accident, but later discovered the gunshot wounds. He said the emotions of seeing such a thing didn't hit him until after he left the scene.
"It was very sad and sobering," Miller said. "It's probably more difficult after I left thinking about it. The loss of life, to my observation, for no reason was so awful. The reason why three people had to die in that situation doesn't make sense to me. I feel for the family and I feel for the souls."
