Suanne Frances Maholick, 71

Suanne Frances Maholick, a 71-year-old white woman, was found dead Thursday, April 7, after she was shot in the 13000 block of Lanning Drive in Whittier, according to coroner’s records. 

Maholick was found dead in the bedroom of her home, underneath the body of her husband, Walter Joseph Maholick, 65, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Eddie Hernandez. 

Investigators were called to the home by the couple’s landlord and friend, who said she hadn’t seen or heard from them since April 3, Hernandez said. 

When deputies entered the home, they found Walter Maholick lying face up on the bed, with a shotgun near his side, Hernandez said. It wasn’t until a medical examiner tried to move the man that they realized his wife, a small woman, was lying underneath him, face down, wrapped up in the sheets. She had been shot in the back at close range, Hernandez said.

“It just looked like a bundle of sheets until the coroner arrived, and then we realized we had a murder-suicide,” Hernandez said. 

Suanne Maholick was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m., according to coroner’s records. It took 12 days to positively identify her because her body was more decomposed than her husband’s, said Ed Winter,  assistant chief of investigations for the coroner's office.

Investigators believe Walter Maholick shot his wife first, and then waited a few days before he shot himself, Winter said. 

The motive for the shooting isn’t clear, Hernandez said. The husband confided to a friend a few months earlier that he had some medical issues he was concerned about, Hernandez said, but he didn’t elaborate about the problem, and the friend didn’t pry.

“He may have been a little depressed about that, but that’s the only info we have,” Hernandez said. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.  

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.