- Police say they found Eilleen and Terry Lyon dead in the couple's Midvale home on Tuesday morning
- The case is suspected to be a murder-suicide; autopsy results are pending.
- Neighbors describe the couple as loving; no domestic violence history was known.
MIDVALE — Police believe a Midvale husband shot and killed his wife before fatally shooting himself.
About 11:10 a.m. Tuesday, Unified police were called to perform a welfare check on the residents at 7533 S. Jefferson Street. When officers gained access inside the home, the bodies of Eilleen Lyon, 65, and Terry Wayne Lyon, 63, were discovered.
"Preliminary investigation indicates the female victim, Eilleen Lyon, sustained a gunshot wound, and the male suspect, Terry Lyon, appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No other occupants reside inside the home, and there is no ongoing threat to the public," police stated on Wednesday.
Officers were asked to conduct a welfare check on the Lyons after one of them did not show up for work, according to police. When police arrived at the residence, they found the home appeared to be undisturbed and the doors were locked and windows shut.
"Repeated phone calls to the residence went unanswered. Officers spoke with neighbors, co-workers, and friends, ultimately obtaining a key to enter the residence out of concern for the occupants' safety," according to Unified police.
Investigators say they are still working with the Office of the Utah Medical Examiner to determine how long the couple may have been dead before their bodies were discovered.
"This is a heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts are with the family, friends, and co-workers affected by this tragedy. We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and closure," police stated.
A next-door neighbor told KSL that she knew the couple very well, as they had taken her in like a niece since she moved in a year and a half ago. She spent a lot of time with them and said they were nothing but loving toward each other.
"I spent the wife's birthday at the Fourth of July party last summer. They crashed my 28th birthday party and just, like, hung out, and I got to know them at the barbecues," the neighbor said.
The couple was like family to her, she said, and she finds it hard to believe something like this could have happened.
"I keep thinking I'm going to come out and see them in the yard and he's going to play with my dog," she said. "He adored his wife; he would do anything for his wife."
Contributing: Debbie Worthen
