Couple Killed In Murder-Suicide Police Say Man Shot Wife Before Turning Gun On Himself In Moscow Apartment

A quiet couple who managed a Moscow apartment complex is dead, after the husband apparently shot and killed his wife before turning a gun on himself, police said.

Elmer L. Farr, 70, was found dead Thursday night in his east Moscow apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.

His wife, Barbara L. Farr, 54, died Friday afternoon, after being airlifted to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. She’d been shot in the chest and arm.

Friends and neighbors were baffled by the apparent murder-suicide, the first deadly crime in Moscow this year.

“They were very likable, very nice, very calm, very quiet,” said Scott Everett, who had attended high school with the couple’s son. “It doesn’t make sense at all.”

The couple was almost always home, and neighbors said they were never seen fighting.

“When you live close to people, you can usually tell if they aren’t getting along,” said Jennifer Ulrich, a University of Idaho junior who lived in the Farr’s complex. “They seemed to get along great. I can’t even guess why this happened.”

Moscow Police said the couple had no history of violence and apparently were not experiencing money trouble. Neither victim appeared seriously ill.

“We have no leads as to the motivation at this time,” Police Capt. Cameron Hershaw.

Police said some sort of fight preceded the shooting.

Officers responded to the Farr’s apartment about 9 p.m. Thursday after receiving a 911 call from Barbara Farr, asking for help. Police were approaching the apartment when they heard three shots.

They found Barbara Farr in a rear bedroom, conscious and bleeding. Elmer Farr was found on the floor of another bedroom, dead.

A .380-caliber handgun also was found.

The apartment, at 1220 East Fifth Street, was owned by Ted Sharp and his family. Sharp family members described the Farr’s as “lovely people.”

Most tenants at the apartment knew the Farrs, who’d worked there 14 years. Barbara Farr showed the vacant rentals while Elmer Farr served as maintenance man and was often seen trimming hedges.

“Elmer was a wonderful handyman,” said one member of the Sharp family, who didn’t give her name. “He was a Johnny on the spot, always ready to help when anything needed fixing.

“They will be sorely missed,” she added.

, DataTimes