Couple appeared to have suicide pact

A DCSO officer walks back with the robot that was sent in to the house on Edlesborough Circle during a standoff in Gardnerville Tuesday night.

A DCSO officer walks back with the robot that was sent in to the house on Edlesborough Circle during a standoff in Gardnerville Tuesday night.

An elderly couple in a Chichester Estates home appeared to have had a suicide pact, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

William Lewis, 86, died Sept. 4 from complications of organ failure caused by excessive ingestion of medications, Douglas County Sheriff’s Spokesman Pat Brooks said Tuesday.

Deputies arrived at 1471 Edlesborough Circle on the evening of Sept. 1 to find Phyllis Lewis, 82, dead on the floor and William barricaded in the back.

Not certain what they were dealing with deputies retreated and called for back-up. The Gardnerville neighborhood street was cordoned off and after an hour the Tahoe Douglas Bomb Squad robot made entry and found William Lewis in the kitchen.

The Lewis’ had been married for 60-plus years, Brooks said.

According to the investigation the couple decided to commit suicide by taking an overdose of their medication and asphyxia.

Brooks said no one else was involved in planning or causing the deaths.

The Lewis’ have owned the home since it was built in 1998.

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