Estranged Couple Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide, Investigation Underway

Estranged Couple Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide, Investigation Underway
(Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Paula Liu
6/29/2020
Updated:
6/29/2020
Police in Somerset, Massachusetts, are investigating the death of an estranged couple who died on Saturday, as a possible murder-suicide, according to WCVB.

The two victims were identified as 31-year-old Joshua Pereira and 30-year-old Amber Pereira, and according to the news outlet, the couple had recently separated.

On Saturday, just before 8 a.m., Joshua drove himself to 160 Thelma Avenue, where he and his estranged wife had lived prior to their separation. A neighbor reported seeing Joshua there but didn’t think anything of it. It was later that witnesses reported hearing gunshots coming from inside the house, according to the news outlet.

At around 8:05 a.m., authorities received a 911 call from a relative of the estranged couple who said she found both of them dead inside the house. Officers responding to the scene found the couple with gunshot wounds.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said that authorities also discovered a gun underneath Joshua’s body.

Investigators said they believe that no other individuals are involved in the incident and that Joshua shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. The incident is currently being investigated as a murder-suicide. Autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

The couple was recently estranged and not living together at the time and that Joshua had recently moved out of their Somerset home.

A neighbor, Russel Michaud, said that they were nice people and that he felt heartbroken by the news. Michaud said he never heard Joshua and Amber arguing at all, adding that they were a quiet couple.

Another neighbor, Matt Silva, was taken aback by the news, saying, “you don’t think about something that in your own neighborhood. It’s pretty crazy.”

The family member stopped by the house on Saturday evening to pick up the dog, but did not comment on the incident.

The investigation into the case is still ongoing and is being conducted by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, the detectives from the Massachusetts State Police, and Somerset Police officials.