Updated: Mon, Jul 6, 2015, 9:36 pm
Danville police investigate apparent murder-suicide in Crow Canyon
Former San Ramon poet laureate allegedly killed by husband, who then shot himself
Danville police chief Steve Simpkins speaks
about the apparent murder-suicide during a press conference early Monday
evening. (Photo by Jeremy Walsh)
Town police are investigating the deaths of a
Danville couple in a suspected murder-suicide in the Crow Canyon Country
Club community Monday morning, according to department officials.
The preliminary investigation indicates
77-year-old Edward Perry shot and killed his wife, Patricia "Pat" Perry,
and then killed himself, Danville police chief Steve Simpkins said
during a press conference early Monday evening.
Pat Perry, 67, was a retired San Ramon city employee and served as the city's first-ever poet laureate.
"Patricia Perry's willingness to provide
exemplary, prompt and efficient assistance to internal and external
customers earned her the title 'GOA' -- Goddess of All. She will be
missed greatly by those she touched in the city family," San Ramon
assistant city manager Eric Figueroa said in a statement.
The San Ramon city flag will be flown at half-staff on Tuesday in remembrance of Pat Perry, according to Figueroa.
The incident inside the Perrys' home in the 700
block of Glen Eagle Court was discovered soon after Danville police
arrived at the residence within the Crow Canyon Country Club gates
around 7:45 a.m. Monday, according to Simpkins.
Emergency dispatch had received a 9-1-1 hangup call several minutes earlier, he said.
After arriving on scene, officers heard what
sounded like a gunshot, and after deeming it safe to enter, they made
their way into the home, Simpkins said.
Once inside, officers found Edward Perry dead in the front doorway from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Simpkins.
Police carried on their search of the home and
discovered Pat Perry deceased in the kitchen, having sustained two
gunshots, the police chief said. No other people were found in the home
and there were no signs forced entry, Simpkins added.
Detectives are continuing to investigate the case
but have not yet found a potential cause for the apparent
murder-suicide, according to Simpkins.
"It was obvious to us when we did our
investigation that it was a murder and then a suicide, but we don't know
what the factors leading up to that are," the police chief said.
Danville police had responded to a domestic
disturbance call at the residence in 2011, but no arrests were made,
Simpkins said, noting that investigators will review that case.
Pat Perry's death has been deemed the town's first murder since 2009, according to Simpkins.
"This is certainly a tragedy. It's not something
we often respond to. And our hearts go out to all the involved families
and the city employees of our neighbors to the south," Simpkins added,
Pat Perry worked for more than two decades as a San Ramon city employee, according to Figueroa.
She started in 1989 as city clerk/redevelopment
secretary and over her career was promoted various times, ending her
career as a division manager in 2010. In retirement, Pat Perry continued
to support San Ramon as a special project consultant for four years for
the city manager and executive team.
She also held the distinction of being named San
Ramon's first poet laureate in 2006, serving in that position for three
years. She contributed more than 40 poems for civic events such as
Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Sept. 11, Figueroa noted.
It was not immediately clear what Edward Perry's profession was, according to Simpkins
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