By William A. Weathers
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SPRINGDALE - A 69-year-old resident of the Maple Knoll Village retirement community and her 74-year-old husband were found dead in the woman's room following a double-shooting Sunday.

Springdale police Sgt. Mike Mathis identified the victims as Donna Lintz and her husband Jack, who lived in Fairfield.

Mrs. Lintz was found in her bed and Mr. Lintz was found on the floor. A semiautomatic handgun was recovered in the room, Sgt. Mathis said.

Police continue to investigate who fired the shots, Sgt. Mathis said. But police have no indication that a third-party was involved.

"There's no determination as to what exactly happened," Sgt. Mathis said.

Neither police nor Maple Knoll officials would say how long Mrs. Lintz had lived there. Mrs. Lintz's room is in a wing of the facility that houses patients with very serious illnesses, police said. Mrs. Lintz's roommate was present at the time of the shooting, but she suffers from severe dementia, Sgt. Mathis said.

Police found the bodies after responding at about 5:20 p.m. to reports of a shooting.

"There were nursing staff on the floor that heard two gunshots," Sgt Mathis said.

The Lintz couple have nine sons and daughters, police said.

"This is a very rare occurrence with this complex," Sgt Mathis said.

Bob Daye, executive director of Maple Knoll, said the staff is saddened. He said the staff was taking steps to accommodate the residents and the victims' relatives.

Police have not determined the case to be a homicide-suicide.

But such cases occur regularly nationwide.

Homicide-suicides among the elderly occur at least 500 times a year, according to research published in 2001 by Dr. Donna Cohen, a professor with the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida.

In most cases, couples have been married a long time and have become dependent on each other.

When a change occurs, such as the woman becoming seriously ill, the man takes action according to Dr. Cohen.

---

E-mail bweathers@enquirer.com