DECATUR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Police say a man called 911 to report a murder-suicide before shooting a woman and then himself near Decatur last week.
Tara Phillips, 34, and Wayne Westphal, 49, were found dead Friday night at a home on 82nd Avenue near 39th Street in Decatur Township.
Michigan State Police said troopers went there around 9:30 p.m. after getting two 911 calls reporting a murder-suicide. One of those calls was from Westphal. The other was from one of Phillips’ relatives, whom she had called.
Troopers knocked and when no one answered, they forced their way in. They found Phillips and Westphal dead on the kitchen floor. The gun was found under Westphal, police said.
Phillips and Westphal had previously been in a relationship and living together. MSP said there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship and Phillips had an active no-contact order against Westphal. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the two were still living together.
Police said all the evidence they have points to a murder-suicide, though they’re still waiting on autopsy reports and toxicology test results.
MSP urged people in volatile relationships to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.7233 or call 911 if they are in immediate danger.