Twins' Double Shooting at Colo. Shooting Range Was Result of a Suicide Pact
Suicide pact leaves one woman dead, her twin hospitalized.
Nov. 18, 2010— -- The double shooting of Australian twins at a Colorado shooting range was the result of a suicide pact made between the sisters, investigators said today.
"Based on the physical evidence collected, the surviving sister's statements, and video surveillance footage from the shooting center (which will not be released) the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office believes that this incident was indeed a suicide and attempted suicide," said a statement released by the sheriff's office.
The two women, 29, had been living in Colorado for five weeks. Their relatives began traveling to the U.S. Wednesday to determine which of the women is dead. Police have been unable to determine which of the identical twins was killed.
Both of them were shot in the head. One died instantly and the other was rushed to a hospital in critical condition where she has been unable to talk to investigators since the shooting Monday.
The women, whose names won't be released until it's clear which one was killed, were simultaneously shot Monday after renting pistols at the eerily-named Family Shooting Center in Cherry Creek State Park, south of Denver.
Both women rented small-caliber pistols and were inside the same shooting stall at the range. Surveillance video from the scene shows both women falling out of the booth simultaneously, but the camera did not capture the shooting.
"There is no one else nearby," Captain Louie Perea said Wednesday. "No one appears to be walking towards the stall or away from it. They were the only two individuals in the stall."
Perea said the evidence found at the scene was too complicated to help determine what took place and will require additional testing.
"The crime lab is processing all the evidence and it could take weeks," Perea said. "The coroner has yet to finish his report. There could be additional ballistics tests, if need be."
It appeared that neither women was killed by a single stray bullet from a third shooter, he said.
