Explosion, Fire Follow Murder/Suicide

"HARLINGEN, TX — Officials are investigating a fatal house fire as a murder/suicide.

"Firefighters and police were called at 5:45 a.m. Monday to a residence in the 1200 block of Rio Hondo, where an explosion reportedly set the home ablaze.

"Fire and police investigators said they recovered the bodies believed to be homeowners Art and Debbie Cohan. Their ages were not released by investigators who are awaiting forensics reports to confirm the identities.
Police said the bodies were found in a bedroom of the house where all windows and doors were blown from their frames by the force of the blast.

"Neighbors reported hearing an explosion and seeing blue flames coming from the wood-frame house. The Harlingen Fire Department classified the blast as a “low-pressure explosion.”

"`It woke me up, it was a big boom,` neighbor Josie Cavazos said. `Everything shook,` she said. `(The house) was engulfed... Blue flames were coming out of the door.`

"Police Sgt. Dave Osborne said letters, packages and surveillance footage led investigators to believe Cohan may have killed his wife and later committed suicide.

"While it is early in the investigation, investigators said Cohan may have acted to ease the suffering of his terminally ill wife.

"`It appears at this time that he may have decided to take his wife’s life and his own life, amongst the medical conditions in place,` Osborne said."

Read more at the Valley Morning Star...