A woman’s estranged husband killed her Sunday evening before he fatally shot himself in northwest Indiana.
Officers arrived to a Hobart home about 5:10 p.m. and found two people, who seemed to be upset and told police that their friend was in the house, according to Lieutenant James M. Gonzales of the Hobart Police Department.
Inside the house in the 1200 block of West 7th Place, officers found 40-year-old Nicole Mendez lying face down on a bed, and 51-year-old George E. Mendez sitting upright with his back against the wall, Gonzales said. Both had been shot and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives determined the estranged couple appeared to have died in a murder-suicide, with the George Mendez shooting Nicole Mendez before killing himself, Gonzales said. The Lake County Coroner’s Office is conducting autopsies.
Nicole Mendez had an order of protection issued against George Mendez on March 9, but she rescinded the order in open court on April 5, Gonzales said.
Three days later, police responded to a battery call from Nicole Mendez after George Mendez saw her with another man when he dropped off their daughter at her house, Gonzales said. That incident was assigned to the police department’s social worker for a follow-up and was still an open investigation.