MEADVILLE —
The deaths of a Linesville area couple have been ruled a double homicide by the Crawford County Coroner’s Office.
The bodies of Laurie A. Prenatt, 44, and her husband, Tod E. Prenatt, 51, both of 2079 Wheeler Road, were found Sunday morning at their home west of Linesville.
The homicide rulings came late Monday afternoon following the completion of autopsies in Erie on both victims, said Pat McHenry, Crawford County coroner. Dr. Eric Vey, a forensic pathologist conducted the autopsies, McHenry said.
Laurie Prenatt died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head while Tod Prenatt died of gunshot wounds to the head and neck, McHenry said.
He would not comment on how many times either of the victims had been shot.
McHenry did confirm both victims were killed by the same caliber weapon, however, he could not say they were killed by the same weapon.
He declined to indicate the time of death for each victim.
“We’re not letting details of the case out now,” McHenry said, citing authorities’ need to conduct the investigation.
The bodies of the Prenatts were discovered Sunday morning at their home — located in Conneaut Township about two miles from the Pennsylvania-Ohio border.
The body of Laurie Prenatt was discovered inside the home before 10 a.m. Sunday by her mother and a neighbor who were checking on Mrs. Prenatt, McHenry said.
On Sunday, McHenry said that the mother had stopped by to take Mrs. Prenatt to church and saw something amiss in the home’s kitchen. The mother had dropped mail off Saturday and saw the mail was in the same place in the kitchen when she returned Sunday, he said.
The mother then went and got a neighbor and the two discovered Mrs. Prenatt when they returned, McHenry said. They alerted authorities and investigators found the body of Tod Prenatt inside a detached garage on the property later Sunday morning.
Other details surrounding the case are being kept under wraps by Pennsylvania State Police and the Crawford County District Attorney’s Office.
“Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the case hard,” was all Francis Schultz, district attorney, would say Monday.
He declined any additional comment on the case.
Investigators from state police have been investigating the case nearly round-the-clock since Sunday morning.
Troopers spent the rest of the day Sunday and all Sunday evening at the scene gathering evidence and conducting interviews.
Investigators were back at the scene Monday looking for clues as well as continuing to conduct interviews with family and friends of the victims.
Investigators were unavailable for comment Monday.
With the completion of the autopsies, the bodies are being released for burial, McHenry said.
Royal-Coleman Funeral Home of Linesville will handle the funeral arrangements for Mrs. Prenatt. The obituary appears in today’s edition.
McHenry said the funeral home handling the arrangements for Mr. Prenatt had not been determined as of Monday night, and no services had been scheduled.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
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