一对付不起医药费的夫妇死于谋杀——自杀

An elderly married couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Washington State this week left several notes saying they could not afford medical bills that had been piling up for them in recent months, authorities said.

据有关部门介绍，美国华盛顿州一对老年夫妇本周死于一起明显的谋杀-自杀事件，他们留下了几张字条，上面写着他们无力支付近几个月来堆积如山的医药费。

The husband Brian Jones called police in Whatcom County soon after 8 a.m. on Wednesday and said, “I am going to shoot myself,” the local sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

当地警长办公室在Facebook的一篇文章中写道，丈夫布莱恩·琼斯在周三早上8点刚过，就给瓦特科姆县的警察打了电话，说：“我要自杀了。”

“We will be in the front bedroom,” the 77-year-old Jones said before hanging up the phone, authorities said.

当局说，77岁的琼斯在挂断电话前说：“我们会在前卧室。”

Police responded to the house and used a crisis negotiator to try to reach the couple, police said. After about an hour, they sent in a robot with a camera attached to it, which found both the man and his 76-year-old wife, Patricia Whitney-Jones, lifeless with gunshot wounds to their bodies, cops said.

警方称，警方对这所房子做出了回应，并派出危机谈判专家试图联系这对夫妇。警察说，大约一个小时后，他们送来了一个装有摄像头的机器人，发现这名男子和他76岁的妻子帕特丽夏·惠特尼·琼斯都没有生命迹象，身上有枪伤。

Police then entered the house and found several notes detailing Patricia Whitney-Jones’ ongoing medical problems and the couple’s inability to pay her bills.

警方随后进入房子，发现了几张便条，上面详细记录了帕特丽夏·惠特尼·琼斯目前的医疗问题以及这对夫妇无力支付账单的情况。

“It is very tragic that one of our senior citizens would find himself in such desperate circumstances where he felt murder and suicide were the only option. Help is always available with a call to 9-1-1,” Sheriff Bill Elfo said in a statement after the incident.

“非常悲惨的是，我们的一名老年人发现自己处于如此绝望的境地，他认为谋杀和自杀是唯一的选择。事故发生后，警长比尔·埃尔福在一份声明中说:“只要拨打911，我们随时可以提供帮助。”

Two unharmed dogs were also found in the house and were turned over to the Humane Society, cops said.

警察表示，在房子里还发现了两条未受伤的狗，并已移交给了动物保护协会。