Posted on 08/11/2002 4:58:05 PM PDT by chance33_98
Blueberry pie apparently sparks murder-suicide
MILO, Maine (AP) A dispute over a blueberry pie is believed to have started a chain of events that ended in the apparent murder-suicide of a husband and wife married for more than 20 years, investigators said.
The deaths occurred a short time after the woman called police to report that she was a victim of domestic assault after her husband allegedly threw a glass of wine in her face on Friday, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Officers arrived about 13 minutes later to find the bodies of Pearle Cogswell, 66, and Eugene Cogswell, 75, McCausland said.
Pearle Cogswell's body was in the kitchen and her husband's body was 6 feet away with a handgun at his side, the spokesman said. The freshly baked blueberry pie was still on the countertop.
Before calling police at 4:24 p.m., Pearle Cogswell had called a relative to report that her husband objected to her plans to give the blueberry pie away, McCausland said. The dispute over giving the pie to a relative apparently escalated to the wine incident and then to the shooting, he said.
Adding to the consternation of investigators: There had been no history of abuse for the couple who had been married more than 20 years.
''It appears to investigator that the destination of a blueberry pie could have started this chain of events. Obviously he snapped,'' said McCausland.
Investigators were treating the incident as a murder suicide but were awaiting autopsies by the state medical examiner's office for a conclusion on the manner of death, the spokesman said.
the 2 people in the article are my aunt and uncle. So can you all please not say all the stuff that you are saying about them. It really pisses me off that people can say that it was funny when it really wasn't. How would you like it if one of your family members killed another family member over something stupid like a blueberry pie. Im sorry if this gets out wrong but im really pissed off.
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