BRISTOL — An investigation by Vermont State Police has determined that the recent deaths of a Bristol couple were the result of a murder-suicide.
Sometime between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon, 71-year-old Gary Guilmette shot and killed his wife, Candace Guilmette, 70, in their home at 2188 Upper Notch Road, and then turned the gun on himself, according to state police.
The timing of the incident is still under investigation, and police are still searching for a motive.
Neither of the Guilmettes was suffering from a terminal illness, and so far there is no evidence to suggest that the couple was experiencing financial troubles, said Capt. Scott Dunlap, Commander of the VSP Major Crime Unit, at a Tuesday press conference.
Police had never been called to the couple’s home, where they had lived for more than 40 years, nor had there been reports about Candace Guilmette expressing concern to anyone about her safety, Dunlap said.
In a press release, state police did point out, however, that early in 2019 Gary Guilmette had suffered a “medical event” that “may have altered his mental status.”
Guilmette had been a self-employed woodworker at the time, but after the medical event he was no longer able to work, Dunlap said.
“It affected his mood, and family members said that he hasn’t been the same,” he said.
Dunlap refused to comment further on the medical event or on what medical or mental health treatment Guilmette might have been receiving at the time of the incident.
Detectives are working to determine if his mental status might have played a role in what occurred.
A concerned out-of-state relative who had not spoken with the Guilmettes since Saturday evening asked a neighbor to check on the couple. The neighbor discovered the Guilmettes in their home and notified state police at 4:20 p.m. on Monday.
According to Dunlap, Candace Guilmette was found in the couple’s second-floor bedroom with a rifle wound in her neck, and Gary Guilmette was found in a second-floor office with a rifle wound to the head.
Police have not yet determined the ownership of the weapon, a Remington 30-06 rifle, that was used in the shootings.
No note of any kind has been found, Dunlap said.
“But this is early on. There is some electronic evidence that we’ve seized from the house, so we will be looking through that,” he said.
The Guilmettes were the only residents of the home at the time of their deaths.
VSP asked that any member of the public who saw or spoke to Candice or Gary Guilmette since Saturday night, Nov. 30, contact them at their New Haven Barracks at (802) 388-4919.
Reach Christopher Ross at [email protected].