A murder-suicide has claimed the lives of a married Texas couple who were found shot to death inside their wrecked car early Tuesday.
Police say 32-year-old Marco Gaytan killed his wife, 34-year-old JoAnn Gaytan, then turned the gun on himself.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has found that both spouses died of gunshot wounds to the head and officially ruled JoAnn’s death a homicide and Marco’s a suicide.
The couple lived in Midland, Texas, with Mrs Gaytan’s three children from previous relationships.
Murder-suicide: Police in Texas say Marco Gaytan, 32 (pictured left) shot dead his wife, JoAnn Gaytan, 34 (right), and then turned the guin on himself
Mom-of-three: JoAnn Gaytan had two sons and a daughter (two of the kids seen above) from previous relationships
The investigation into the murder-suicide began unfolding at 1am Tuesday when the Burleson Police Department got a call about a car accident in the 1800 block of Farm Road 917 near Joshua, as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported.
Officers responded to the scene and found the Gaytan couple shot inside their vehicle.
JoAnn was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband of less than two years was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, where he succumbed to his self-inflicted wound an hour later.
According to her social media posts, JoAnn worked as a medical assistant at The Vine Medical Center and was raising her two teenage sons and a younger daughter. She and Marco got married in November 2015.
Fresh start: JoAnn and Marco Gaytan got married in November 2015. The heavily tattooed 34-year-old woman worked as a medical assistant
Loving couple: In post after gushing post, JoAnn Gaytan referred to Marco as her ‘amazing’ and ‘wonderful’ husband
JoAnn had been posting effusive Facebook status updates professing her love for her husband and praising him as a loving spouse.
In late April, she shared a photo of Marco showing off a new tattoo on his neck, which spelled out her name. A caption accompanying the selfie read: ‘The things he does to show his never ending love for me.’
In post after gushing post, JoAnn Gaytan referred to Marco as her ‘amazing’ and ‘wonderful’ husband. In late August 2016, she wrote on her page: ‘I cherish my marriage. Nothing nor no one will break our bond. I’m here to stay!!’
As of Wednesday morning, there has been no word on a possible motive behind the murder-suicide.
Online records show that Marco Gaytan had been arrested twice, in 2012 and 2015, for minor traffic violations, including driving without a license, failure to wear a seat belt and speeding.