BRISTOL – The deaths of a couple in their 70s found late Monday afternoon in a Bristol home were the result of a homicide-suicide, Vermont State Police say.
Capt. Scott Dunlap, head of the state police major crime unit, said Tuesday that an initial investigation shows that Gary Guilmette, 71, killed his wife, Candice Guilmette, 70, shooting her in the neck.
Gary Guilmette then turned the gun on himself, fatally shooting himself in the head, Dunlap told reporters late Tuesday afternoon during a briefing at the state police barracks in New Haven.
Autopsies on both bodies were performed Tuesday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington, with Candice Guilmette’s death ruled a homicide and Gary Guilmette’s death a suicide, Dunlap said.
The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, Dunlap said.
Dunlap added that Gary Guilmette suffered a medical event in early 2019 that “may have altered his mental status,” and detectives are trying to determine if that played any role in the deaths.
“He was no longer able to work, it affected his mood,” Dunlap said. “The family members said he hadn’t been the same.”
The couple’s daughter, who lives out of state and had not heard from them since Saturday evening, asked a neighbor Monday to check on them, according to Dunlap.
That’s when the neighbor discovered the bodies in the home and contacted police, he said.
Dunlap said detectives are still investigating to determine when the shooting occurred.
No note has been found, though Dunlap said investigators have seized some electronic devices they will be looking through.
Both bodies were found on the second floor of the home, with Candice Guilmette located in the bedroom and Gary Guilmettte in an office.
Dunlap said it appears a total of two shots were fired, both from a Remington .30-06 rifle.
The home on Upper Notch Road is about seven miles from the center of the Addison County town of Bristol.
A team of state police investigators could be seen Tuesday coming and going from the home, which sits back from the dirt roadway.
Ronald Browe, a neighbor who lives about 100 yards from the Guilmettes’ residence, said it was his daughter who was called by a relative of the couple to check on them.
Browe said he didn’t want to talk about what took place, but did say it is typically a quiet area with little police activity.
Dunlap, the state police captain, said he was not aware of any previous law enforcement involvement at the residence.
He said the couple had lived in the home for more than 40 years.
Gary Guilmette, according to Dunlap, was a woodworker with a shop located at his home, but hadn’t worked since suffering the medical event earlier this year.
Candice Guilmette worked as a forensic accountant, the captain said.
State police are asking that anyone who saw or spoke with Candice or Gary Guilmette since Saturday night to contact state police at the New Haven barracks at 802-388-4919.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Deaths of Bristol couple ruled a homicide-suicide.