08152015 - News Article - Man dies after allegedly killing wife, shooting self

Man dies after allegedly killing wife, shooting self
NWI Times
By Bob Kasarda
August 15, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/man-dies-after-allegedly-killing-wife-shooting-self/article_9c5252e8-0942-54f5-9aff-80df97fc988b.html

PORTAGE | The man believed responsible for shooting and killing his estranged wife last week has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound stemming from the incident, according to Portage Police Chief Troy Williams.

Miguel Contreras, 51, died either Friday night or early Saturday at a Chicago hospital where he had been transported, Williams said.

"It's very sad," Williams said. "Very tragic."

Miguel Contreras is believed to have shot Maria Contreras and then himself about 4 p.m. Wednesday at her home in the 3000 block of Edith Street in the Sandalwood Estates subdivision on Portage's east side, police said.

Police said they were called to the home for a report of a verbal disturbance and were told while en route that shots had been fired. They arrived to find Maria Contreras' body lying across the track of a sliding glass door at the rear of the house with her body half inside and half outside the home.

Miguel Contreras was found inside the home, injured but still breathing, police said.

The couple had a final divorce hearing scheduled for Sept. 29, according to court records. Maria Contreras had told the courts nearly a year ago that she feared her husband would hurt her as part of the separation.

"The thought of him losing complete control of our marriage could well cause him to act violently and irrationally," she said in a handwritten letter used to help convince the court in September to order Miguel Contreras to stay away from her.

Elsewhere in the same letter, she said Miguel Contreras "has demanded complete control of everything" during their 22-year marriage. She said the marriage had been terrible during its last two years and Miguel Contreras had refused to disclose information about their assets.

"Recently, when I told him I was leaving, he told me I should kill myself rather than return home," she said.

Maria Contreras secured the protective order in September in anticipation of the divorce. It was then dismissed at her request two weeks later, according to court records.