Local Attorney Dies In Apparent Murder-Suicide
IMLAY CITY (WWJ) - In Lapeer County, Michigan State Police responded to a domestic violence call, discovering two people dead and a young boy wounded.
When police arrived at that scene Tuesday night at a house on Palmer Street in Imlay City, officers could hear gunshots. Once inside, they found Lara Stutz, 43, and her husband, Marcel Stutz, 42, both fatally shot.
Police said it was unclear who shot the other before taking his or her own life.
The couple's three children were found inside an upstairs bathroom. One of them, a 9-year-old boy, had been shot in the leg. He was treated at a nearby hospital while the other kids were released into the custody of their grandparents.
Lara Stutz was a partner in the law firm Taylor, Butterfield, Howell, Churchill, Jarvis, and Stutz, according to David Churchill, who described her a warm, caring persons and an exceedingly talented attorney.
"Everyone at this law firm is shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of our partner ... She cared deeply about her family, her clients and her community. It was an honor and privilege to have Lara Stutz as our partner," Churchill told WWJ Newsradio 950.
"We are now in the process of making sure that each of her clients and her pending matters are taken care of and the professional manner that she would have wanted," he said.
Stutz was a past president of the Lapeer County Bar Association.
