BRISTOL — Vermont State Police on Tuesday afternoon identified the two people found dead at a home at 2188 Upper Notch Road in Bristol on Monday as Gary Guilmette, 71, and Candice Guilmette, 70.
Police concluded that Gary Guilmette shot his wife with a rifle then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.
Police were notified at about 4:20 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, that a neighbor had discovered the bodies of two residents of the home.
Troopers said their preliminary investigation indicates there is no threat to the general public.
The Vermont State Police Crime Scene Search Team has processed the scene, while detectives with the Major Crime Unit and Bureau of Criminal Investigations, along with members of the Field Force Division, work to determine what occurred.
State police said that relatives of the Guilmettes who live out of state had not heard from them since the evening of Saturday, Nov. 30, and asked a neighbor on Monday to check on the residence. The neighbor discovered the bodies of the Guilmettes and called police.
Autopsies conducted Tuesday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington concluded that Candice Guilmette was killed by a rifle shot to her neck, and that Gary Guilmette died from a self-inflicted rifle wound to the head.
Initial investigation by the Vermont State Police indicates that Gary Guilmette shot his wife, and then turned the gun on himself. The motive behind the incident remains under investigation. However, investigators have learned that Gary Guilmette suffered a medical event in early 2019 that may have altered his mental status. At a Tuesday press conference police declined to go into detail about the medical event. Detectives are working to determine if that played a role in what occurred.
The state police asks that any member of the public who saw or spoke to Candice or Gary Guilmette since Saturday night contact the New Haven Barracks at 802-388-4919.