A Niagara Falls man apparently strangled his girlfriend and then slashed her throat, leaving her dead, before fatally shooting himself in her 29th Street home, city police said Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Peter G. Daniels, 37, and Elizabeth R. Wilson, 31, a former resident of Bath. They lived at 548 29th St.
Officers arriving at the home Monday night found a grisly scene with a large amount of blood.
“They weren’t both killed the same way. He had [Wilson’s] blood on him. He killed her with a knife, which was found at the scene,” said Capt. William M. Thomson, chief of detectives. He said officers found Wilson dead from knife wounds to the throat and Daniels dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Daniels’ family members were the first to discover apparent murder-suicide, just after 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Daniels’ mother told police that her son, who lived in her home across the street from his girlfriend, had just left her house and shortly afterward she heard the sound of a gunshot. Thomson said she alerted her other son, Philip Daniels, who called police when he discovered the bodies of his younger brother and his brother’s girlfriend.
Police found Peter Daniels in a seated position, propped up against a wall in the dining room with a pump action shotgun between his legs. Wilson was lying in the same room.
Coroner Cindy Lou Joyce said it was too early to determine what time Wilson was killed.
However, it appeared that she was dead before Daniels went across the street to talk to his mother, Thomson said.
“I don’t know what he said to his mom, but apparently it was not clear, because she appears to have waited until she heard the gunshot before she called anybody,” Thomson said. “The indication was that he did have blood on him [when he spoke to his mother.]”
He said it was unclear what led to the violence.
“The two people who can tell us best are gone,” he said.
Although some neighbors have reported hearing arguing coming from the house, Thomson said there was no history of violence or domestic violence arrests. Neither had a criminal record, he said.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com
The deceased were identified as Peter G. Daniels, 37, and Elizabeth R. Wilson, 31, a former resident of Bath. They lived at 548 29th St.
Officers arriving at the home Monday night found a grisly scene with a large amount of blood.
“They weren’t both killed the same way. He had [Wilson’s] blood on him. He killed her with a knife, which was found at the scene,” said Capt. William M. Thomson, chief of detectives. He said officers found Wilson dead from knife wounds to the throat and Daniels dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Daniels’ family members were the first to discover apparent murder-suicide, just after 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Daniels’ mother told police that her son, who lived in her home across the street from his girlfriend, had just left her house and shortly afterward she heard the sound of a gunshot. Thomson said she alerted her other son, Philip Daniels, who called police when he discovered the bodies of his younger brother and his brother’s girlfriend.
Police found Peter Daniels in a seated position, propped up against a wall in the dining room with a pump action shotgun between his legs. Wilson was lying in the same room.
Coroner Cindy Lou Joyce said it was too early to determine what time Wilson was killed.
However, it appeared that she was dead before Daniels went across the street to talk to his mother, Thomson said.
“I don’t know what he said to his mom, but apparently it was not clear, because she appears to have waited until she heard the gunshot before she called anybody,” Thomson said. “The indication was that he did have blood on him [when he spoke to his mother.]”
He said it was unclear what led to the violence.
“The two people who can tell us best are gone,” he said.
Although some neighbors have reported hearing arguing coming from the house, Thomson said there was no history of violence or domestic violence arrests. Neither had a criminal record, he said.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com