"Time To Die"

"ROSEVILLE, MI — Announcing it was `time to die,` a 55-year-old Roseville man shot his live-in girlfriend in the chest and then turned the gun on himself, police said.

"The woman, 55, who survived the Saturday night attack, was in extremely critical condition at a local hospital, Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said today. The boyfriend was dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head when police arrived in the 26000 block of Ridgemont, Berlin said.

"Police were sent to the area about 11:15 p.m. Saturday on a report of gunshots being fired and a woman screaming for help. They found the woman, who Berlin did not name, lying in the driveway of the home, wounded. A short distance away was her boyfriend's body, police said.

"The pair shared the home on 26378 Ridgemont, apparently for at least a few years. The man, who Berlin identified as Michael Joseph Powell, had been suffering long-term health issues.

"But, he said, Powell had been drinking heavily that day or night, which exacerbated his medical condition, leading the couple to argue. Part of the argument, Berlin said, was about Powell's drinking.

"During the argument, the girlfriend told police, Powell pulled out a .380-caliber, semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at her and said it was `time to die,` Berlin said. He said Powell fired a shot at her inside the home and missed, hitting a bedroom wall.

"She fled the house, screaming for help, alerting neighbors who immediately called police. She took cover behind a car, but the man found her and shot at her, hitting her once in the chest, police said.

"He then walked a short distance and turned the gun on himself, taking his own life, police said.

"`It's kind of a tragedy all the way around,` Berlin said."

From freep.com...