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WEST JORDAN — A mother accused of shooting her 18-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself told police the pair "had a plan to die."
Mary Hansen shot her daughter, Virginia Ray, in the back of the head before also shooting herself, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. The 53-year-old woman was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon and booked into jail.
Hansen was taken to Intermountain Medical Center Wednesday after she drove to the home of a neighbor, honked her horn and asked the woman who responded to call 911 because she had shot her daughter and herself.
Virginia Hansen's body was found on a bed in the home, the report states. Mary Hansen was found in the home with a gunshot wound to the head that was not life threatening.
Police interviewed Mary Hansen while she was in the hospital. After reading the woman her Miranda rights, "the suspect told me that she and her daughter had a plan to die.
"She told me that she used a handgun and shot her daughter in the back of the head and then shot herself in the head," the report states.
Police were called to the home Mary Hansen and her daughter shared at 8366 S. Bard Lane (1320 West) just before 11 a.m. Wednesday
West Jordan Police Sgt. Drew Sanders said investigators were at the Hansens' house at until 2 a.m. Thursday combing for possible evidence. Evidence from inside the house was recovered. He did not elaborate on what the evidence was, saying it would be presented to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office to be reviewed for possible charges.
Neighbors say the mother and daughter, who moved to Utah from California, were rarely seen outside their home, and rarely seen apart. One friend, Audrey Orrillo, said the family had financial problems. Hansen was about to lose her home, she said, and was struggling to live on social security.
Another neighbor said Mary Hansen suffered from "health issues."
According to the Salt Lake County treasurer website, Hansen owed $8,819.62 in delinquent property taxes, which had gone unpaid since 2008.
Contributing: Emiley Morgan
