State police confirm West Beth shootings were murder-suicide
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State police said Thursday that the preliminary investigation into the fatal shootings Tuesday in West Bethlehem Township determined they were murder-suicide.
Trooper Matthew Jardine, public information officer with the Washington barracks, confirmed that Julie A. Bottles, 47, was shot twice in the bedroom the couple shared at 172 Patterson Run Road. Curtis E. Michael, 49, then turned the gun on himself, firing one shot. His body was found on the bedroom floor.
Jardine said the weapon used in the shootings was registered to Michael, and that there were no active protection from abuse orders between the two. Bottles and Michaels were not married, but were living together as a couple. They did not own the property at 172 Patterson Run Road. State police said the shootings occurred between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning.
The shootings remain under investigation.