Ex-Pennsylvania Chief, Family Found Slain

[Guest nutty1]

From FH.com

LACEYVILLE, Pa. --

A former fire chief, his wife and their son were found slain inside their rural home, all shot in the head with a shotgun, state police said Thursday.

The bodies of Joseph Colegrove, 60; his wife, Marlene Colegrove, 56; and their son, Michael Colegrove, 36, were found Wednesday by a woman who went to their house to check on them, state police said in a search warrant affidavit filed a few hours after the bodies were found.

Police searched the home in northeastern Pennsylvania for blood, weapons, phone and electronic records and other items related to the shootings.

Bradford County prosecutor Albert Ondrey declined to comment Thursday on whether there was a suspect, how the three were killed or provide any other details about the scene outside Laceyville, a rural town of 400 situated 30 miles northwest of Scranton.

Autopsies were scheduled for Friday.

Joe Colegrove spent 40 years with the Goodwill Fire Company in Laceyville, including 13 years as chief, and owned a barber shop across the street from the fire hall. Marlene Colegrove was active with the ladies' auxiliary and drove a school bus for about two decades.

A candle, flowers and a red toy fire truck were left outside Joe's Barber Shop, and a wreath hung from the front of the fire company headquarters.

Goodwill Fire Chief Scott Fisher said that Michael Colegrove had been active in the fire company when he was younger, but that he more recently had suffered from health problems.

"You couldn't ask for a better family," Fisher said Thursday. "They've done a ton for the community."