Cops: Two dead in suspected murder-suicide in North Bellmore

A man dropped by North Bellmore Thursday to check on his parents and made a horrific discovery -- both of them had been shot dead.

Police believe it was a murder-suicide.

The motive is still under investigation, said Insp. Kenneth Lack, a spokesman for the Nassau Police Department. Crime scene investigators were at the home late Thursday.

The husband, 60, shot his wife, 61, once with a rifle, then shot himself, Lack said.

The couple was found in their bedroom on the second floor of the modest two-story house on Leonard Street.

Authorities have not released the couple's names.

"The 33-year-old son walked in and saw his parents in complete disarray and that's no way to see your parents go out," said Det. Lt. John Azzata, head of the Nassau Homicide Squad. "They had two adult children, and I feel for them."

Both the husband and wife worked, and each of their employers considered them the "perfect" employee, he said.

The husband, an auto mechanic at a car dealership, was missing from work for just one day, an aberration, Azzata said.

"The husband worked for 20 years at the same place, always on time for work -- as a matter of fact, extremely early for work -- got along with everyone," he said.

Police said there had been no reports of domestic incidents at the home.

George Weeks, who lives next door to the couple, was home Thursday when the bodies were discovered. He said he did not hear gunshots or arguments at the home.

Weeks described them as "typical" neighbors. He said he moved into the neighborhood about 30 years ago and the couple moved in shortly thereafter.

"They just kept to themselves," said Weeks. He said the couple had a daughter as well.

"They're quiet," said neighbor Joseph Merz, 52, who said he has lived on the street for 21 years.

With Ellen Yan