Wisconsin Murder-Suicide: 86-Year-Old Dentist Fatally Shoots Ailing Wife Before Killing Himself

A former dentist and church officer from Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday (May 4) afternoon shot and killed his ailing wife before killing himself in what is considered to be a case of murder-suicide.

The well-respected former dentist, identified as 86-year-old J. William “Bill” Walker, fatally shot his wife, identified as Carolyn M. Walker who suffered from a heart condition, in the couple’s two-story frame house at 302 W. Decatur Street.

The Madison Police Department, accompanied by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s Emergency Management Department, arrived at the crime scene shortly after receiving reports of shots being fired. Upon arrival, they found the couple dead.

According to Madison Police Chief Mike Rutherford, William used a silver revolver, believed to be either a .357- or .45-caliber, to shoot his wife twice in the torso. He then fired two more shots to his own torso. The chief said they were still investigating William's motive behind committing the crime.

Rutherford, who knew the couple, said, "We really don't know, I'm as surprised as everybody else."

Pauline Lowe Tucker, a live-in caregiver who was appointed to take care of Carolyn, witnessed the incident. She told her sister and niece that Willaim asked her to put Carolyn in bed before he walked into the room and opened fire at her.

Tucker told them that Walker at one point pointed his gun at her before turning it on him and shooting himself.

“I’m tired and I don’t feel like talking right now,’’ Tucker said responding to local media.

Madison Police investigators conducted a detailed investigation of the crime scene. The police said as an eyewitness, Tucker helped the investigators in unfolding the tragedy.

“We knew him. And he always seemed really nice,’’ 16-year-old Kimberley Duarte, a neighbor, told local media.

Duarte, a McMichael High School junior, said, “I never heard any shots, and I was here.’’ “It’s really kind of scary,’’ she said.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.