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The incident was uncovered around 8:06 p.m. Tuesday when the Middletown Police Department was notified through 911 of a potential death investigation in the city, said City of Middletown Police Lt. Jeffry R. Thoelen.
Police personnel responded to Vincent Drive and made contact with a female neighbor, who reported that she had found the male and female residents dead inside the garage of the residence from apparent gunshot wounds, Thoelen said.
The neighbor said that she had gone to check on the female resident after she didn't report work for her nursing shift at a local hospital, police said.
A preliminary investigation conducted by the Detective Division revealed that the male resident, Francis J. Pumillo, 55, fatally shot his wife, Amanda Pumillo, 45, and then killed himself, Thoelen said.
The couple lived together at the residence and were home alone a the time of the murder-suicide.
"There does not appear to be any other involved parties in the incident, and the weapon used was legally possessed by Francis, a retired law enforcement officer from a police department in Westchester County," he added.
Francis Pumillo’s LinkedIn page lists him as a lieutenant with the Greenburgh Town Police Department.
Thoelen said this is the second time in eight days that the City of Middletown Police Department has responded to domestic violence-related murder/suicide.
On Jan. 6, Jasminn Emanuel, was shot and killed by her husband, Dennis Hercules, who then killed himself at their Monhagen Avenue.
"These incidents bring to light two extremely alarming trends that our society must come to terms with and work towards finding meaningful solutions," he said. "The first issue is domestic violence: In both of these incidents, the victims of the homicide were killed by their domestic partners, a tragedy for not only the victims but also their families who are left struggling to pick up the pieces."
He went on to say that the department aggressively investigates incidents of domestic violence in hopes of preventing incidents such as this.
Police are asking residents to contact their local police department or contact Safe Homes of Orange County direct, to get the help.
The investigation into this incident is continuing.
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