The Associated Press
VINELAND, N.J. (AP) -- A state corrections officer shot his wife, then killed himself in an apparent murder-suicide attempt, authorities said.
Diane Clough, 42, was listed in critical condition Monday with bullet wounds to the head and chest at Cooper Health System in Camden, where she was airlifted following Sunday’s shooting, police told the Press of Atlantic City.
Her husband, Clarence Clough, 59, apparently killed himself with a single shot to the head from a .38-special revolver, Cumberland County Prosecutor Ronald Casella said. Clarence Clough was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Police said the double shooting apparently was the culmination of a domestic disturbance that began the night before. Diane Clough had called police about 12:30 a.m., but declined to press charges. She left the home, and may have stayed in a motel, and was shot when she returned to retrieve some personal belongings, the Bridgeton News reported.
The woman’s 19-year-old daughter, who was staying in a garage apartment on the property, found the body of her stepfather lying over that of her mother in a bedroom.
Police recovered a licensed Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, with three of its six rounds used, authorities said.
Authorities Monday did not know how long the couple had been married or whether there had been previous domestic calls. The Cloughs bought the home in March, and investigators said it appeared that they had separate bedrooms.
Clarence Clough had been a corrections officer at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Delmont since 1984, Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Carden said.
In August, another Cumberland County corrections officer was involved in a fatal shooting. South Woods State Prison employee Jonathan K. Norman, 31, of Fairfield Township, fatally shot ex-girlfriend Teneka M. Milbourne as she dropped off their 16-month-old daughter for visitation.