A father shot his adult daughter in the head, torched their Waterbury home, then shot himself in the head, according to Connecticut authorities.
WATERBURY, Conn. -- A father shot his daughter in the head, set their Waterbury home on fire, then shot himself in the head on Thursday, according to Connecticut authorities who are investigating the murder-suicide case.
Autopsy results indicate that Audley Morgan, 59, and Suzette Morgan, 39, both died of gunshot wounds to the head, Waterbury Police Capt. Christopher Corbett said in a press release issued to CTnow.com.
Police said Suzette Morgan's death has been ruled a homicide, while Audley Morgan's death has been ruled a suicide.
"It appears that Audley shot Suzette in the head, started the fire by dousing the couch with accelerant and igniting it, and he then shot himself in the head," Corbett said in the release.
An explosion and fire were reported around 6:45 p.m. Thursday at the Morgans' bunker-style home on Clover Street, according to various published reports. City firefighters reported having difficulty gaining entry to the burning house, whose windows had metal bars or were covered with heavy plywood, police said.
Firefighters said the house had no electricity, leading some people in the neighborhood to believe that the home was vacant.
Neighbors described Audley Morgan, a native of Jamaica, as an eccentric recluse who was prone to unusual behavior when he did venture outside, the Republican American newspaper of Waterbury reported.
Morgan and his daughter would wear tin foil hats while cutting the grass, and they would ride bicycles equipped with sirens and flashing lights while carrying umbrellas in the rain or sun, the newspaper reported.
Family members said Morgan had become withdrawn in recent years, shunning cellphones, computers and television, according to published reports.
Rather than pay utility companies for electricity and water, Morgan instead powered his Clover Street home with a generator and collected rainwater.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.