05312011 - News Article - Porter County coroner: Deaths look to be murder-suicide

Porter County coroner: Deaths look to be murder-suicide
WSBT News
May 31, 2011
http://articles.wsbt.com/2011-05-31/murder-suicide_29606628

KOUTS, Ind. (AP) — The Porter County coroner says a 52-year-old woman and her estranged husband were found shot to death and her house was fully engulfed in flames in what appears to be a murder-suicide.

Coroner Chuck Harris says a preliminary examination indicates that Cheryl Miller and 59-year-old Frederick Miller both died of gunshot wounds. He says an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Times of Munster and the Post-Tribune of Merrillville report that the couple's 19-year-old son escaped from the home in rural Kouts about 3 a.m. Tuesday after Frederick Miller threw a flammable device through a window in the house. The sheriff's department says the son called police and reported hearing several gunshots.

The sheriff's department says Frederick Miller was removed from the home by police in April.