BREAKING NEWS: Public findings of Medford deaths released by sheriff
The deaths of two Medford teenagers 10 days ago was the result of a murder-suicide with a small caliber handgun, officials said today in a statement.
According to the Steele County Sheriff's Office, the weapon was found at the scene.
The bodies of Chandra Pelch, 18, and Jerome Caldwell, 19, were discovered in her apartment the evening of June 3, and taken to the Southeastern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Rochester for a determination of cause and manner of death.
Based on results of the scene investigation, as well as the outside autopsy results, the deaths were confirmed to be murder-suicide as a result of injuries from the small caliber handgun. Pelch was shot four times from the back and twice from the front, the statement says, and died from her injuries. Caldwell then turned the gun on himself. His initial shot was non-fatal, but his second shot was fatal.
According to the statement, both teens' injuries at autopsy were consistent with the handgun and casings recovered from the scene and taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which was brought in to assist because of their expertise in crime scene investigation.
No one else was injured and the public is not in danger, the statement says, and the families of both victims have been notified.
"All relevant public information has now been released, and no further press releases are planned at this time," the statement continued. "We ask the public to give both families privacy and respect as they grieve these tragic losses."
