2 Seniors Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide ID'D: Sheriff

LAKE BENTON, MN — The apparent murder-suicide of two senior citizens is being investigated by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, KARE 11 reported.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death of Sandra Goertz, 81, was a homicide from "multiple gunshots" and the death of Edward Goertz, 80, a suicide from a single gunshot, Sheriff Bob Bushman said in a release posted to the department's Facebook page on Saturday afternoon.

The sheriff's department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are still investigating what led to the shooting, according to Bushman.

When the pair were found at around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sandra was already dead and Edward was clinging to life before being taken to a nearby hospital where he died, Bushman said.

"A lot of people don't realize the impact that an incident like this has on a rural, tight-knit community like Lake Benton," Bushman stated in the release. "Many folks here are related to each other, and most people know one another. When a tragedy like this occurs, it's like everyone has lost a family member."