Man kills self, wife before couple’s daughters

updated 9:42 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A man shot and killed his wife before killing himself in a shopping center parking lot as the couple’s two teenage daughters looked on, police said.

Delmar Sayre, 51, and his wife, Ernestine, 45, both of Fredericktown in central Ohio, were pronounced dead shortly after the shooting, which took place around 9:20 p.m. Sunday, said Columbus police Sgt. Eric Pilya.

Investigators said Delmar Sayre was waiting in the parking lot as Ernestine Sayre and the daughters, ages 15 and 17, left a movie theater at the Carriage Place Shopping Center on the city’s northwest side.

Police said the couple fought, and Delmar Sayre shot his wife several times in the stomach and abdomen before shooting himself. Pilya said the couple had been having problems but did not elaborate.

He said the daughters were among several witnesses to the shootings. The girls were placed with relatives, he said.

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