Mystery Surrounds Motive In Connecticut Couple's Apparent Murder-Suicide
NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) – Two Connecticut teenagers have lost their parents in an apparent murder-suicide.
Investigators say a woman beat and stabbed her husband before killing herself.
At the five-bedroom colonial on Cornell Road, a crime scene cleanup company went about its work. Meanwhile, neighbors tried to make sense of Monday's deadly violence.
"It just rocks you right to your core. So sad," New Fairfield resident Kirstin Clarke said.
Authorities believe 51-year-old Michael Ciorra died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds.
His wife, 47-year-old Jennifer Ciorra, reportedly committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The gas was apparently generated by a vehicle parked in the family garage.
Studies show in cases of murder-suicide involving married couples, it is rare for the woman to be the killer – happening in just six percent of cases.
Investigators say Connecticut's domestic violence policies prohibit them from releasing many details, including what the possible motive might be.
Very little information about the couple could be gleaned from social media. The Ciorras have two sons in the New Fairfield public school system.
"We've seen them playing in the yard, it's just amazing. I can't believe it. Why would someone do something like that?" Clarke asked CBS2's Tony Aiello.
In this case, the answer to that question may never be known.
According to Michael Ciorra's Linkedin profile, he worked for a semiconductor firm in Dutchess County, New York.