Sebastian police are unraveling a perplexing and tragic case as they search for answers after a woman was brutally murdered, only for the suspect to take his own life over the weekend.
According to the Sebastian Police Department, police responded to a home in the 1000 block of Barber Street at 10 p.m. on December 7 to notify the next of kin of a death for another agency.
Officers were unable to contact the woman who lived there, Patricia Rockwell-Kuhner, 64. However, her automobile was parked at home.
Inside, detectives discovered Rockwell-Kuhner’s body on the floor, along with “signs of blood.”
Sebastian police stated Rockwell-Kuhner was the victim of a homicide, and the man who killed her, Michael Rockwell, 48, is also deceased. Police have established that this is a murder-suicide.
“This conclusion marks the culmination of careful investigative work, and we extend our deepest condolences to the Rockwell-Kuhner family during this incredibly difficult time,” the Sebastian Police Department said in a printed news statement on Tuesday.