LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Butler County Coroner's Office has released the identities of the two people found dead in a murder-suicide inside their Liberty Township home.
After autopsies were conducted, the coroner's office said 72-year-old Claire Olmsted Buckley was shot and killed, and 70-year-old Frederick Buckley died by suicide on Wednesday evening.
According to the Butler County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to the couple's home in the 4400 block of Hidden Oaks Lane after a welfare check was requested by their son-in-law, who told officials he hadn't heard from his in-laws in a couple of days. The son-in-law told dispatchers he was at the home and could see his family's vehicle inside the garage.
Inside the home, deputies found a 72-year-old woman, now identified as Olmsted Buckley, lying on a couch with a gunshot wound while a 70-year-old man, Frederick Buckley, was found dead on the living room floor, also with a gunshot wound, the sheriff's office said.
Neighbors said the two lived in the neighborhood for more than a dozen years.
"It makes zero sense. It makes zero sense," a next-door neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told us. "Very nice people, very kind people. Always friendly, always something nice to say. Just shocked."
Watch: We speak with neighbors about the couple found dead in Liberty Township
While neighbors said the couple recently built a new home in Columbus and moved there, they frequently came back to Liberty Township because of a financial planning business that was run out of the home. The next-door neighbor we spoke with said she had a conversation with the elderly woman this past weekend about the move.
"She was talking about the painters in their new house, and that she was starting to feel comfortable there and getting it set up and making it her own," the neighbor said. "And she seemed very happy."
Deputies also found a dead dog in the home's living room, according to the sheriff's office. The next-door neighbor said the couple had a dog named Luna, and they loved playing with her.
"Just this past week, when they were home, I heard them in the backyard playing with Luna and throwing the ball and the Frisbee for her," she said. "And they laugh out loud watching her. I mean, they get total joy out of that dog."
The Butler County Sheriff's Office remained at the scene for hours on Wednesday afternoon. As of Thursday, the office said no more updates were available at this time.
"This is completely out of character. They're very kind people with a very nice family, and I just can't believe it," the neighbor said, before sharing her immediate reaction to the news. "Like, 'This is not true. Is there some other explanation? Why? What?'"
