Elderly Couple Had Health Issues

"ROCK HILL, SC — A former chairwoman of Winthrop University’s Board of Trustees died Monday after investigators say her husband shot her and then shot himself at their Rock Hill home.

"James Martin, 91, and his wife, Mary Jean Martin, 81, were pronounced dead at about 8:30 a.m. at their home in the Huntington Place neighborhood off Herlong Avenue, York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said. They had been married for 14 years and had no children together.

"Gast called the deaths a murder/suicide.

"On Tuesday, autopsy results showed that James and Mary Martin died as a result of gunshot wounds, Gast said.

"Police were called to the Martin house at about 8 a.m. after a caregiver found the couple, said Executive Officer Mark Bollinger, spokesman for the Rock Hill Police Department. The door to the house at 1662 Huntcliff Drive was locked, he said, and police don’t believe anyone else was involved in the shootings.

"Gast said James Martin left behind a note of instructions, telling whoever found the couple what family members to call. The note was not addressed to a specific person.

"Investigators plan to submit forensic evidence to the State Law Enforcement Division, Bollinger said.

"Both James and Mary Martin had been in failing health, Bollinger said."

Read more at The State...