Authorities in Tuscarawas County are investigating the death of a couple in an apparent murder suicide.

NewsChannel 5 reports that a family member found the body of a woman at around 11:30 AM Saturday at the home on Ashwood Drive SE in New Philadelphia.

The family member also found two dead dogs.

The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene and found the bodies of Daniel Fawcett, his wife Rena, and the bodies of the dogs.

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Walt Wilson tells the television station that it appears Rena Fawcett suffered a severe head injury, and that her husband Daniel hanged himself.

The Tuscarawas County Coroner's office will perform autopsies, and evidence from the scene has been sent to the state crime lab.

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