Murder-suicide possible in New Lenox Township incident

A married couple may have died in a possible murder-suicide in New Lenox Township.

On Tuesday, the Will County Coroner’s Office said Jeanette Cunliffe, 57, and Clayton Cunliffe, 58, of New Lenox were pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m. Monday in the 23000 block of South Spencer Road in New Lenox Township.

No preliminary cause and manner of deaths were provided by the coroner’s office.

Will County Sheriff Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said while the investigation is still early, all signs point to the incident being a murder-suicide, with Clayton Cunliffe, the husband of Jeanette, as the offender.

Officers were called to the scene in the 23000 block of South Spencer Road for a suspicious death complaint at 9:28 p.m. Sunday, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

The female 911 caller told dispatchers that she had not heard from her parents in several days and had gone to their home to check on them, police said.

After entering her parents’ home, the caller told police that she had found her parents dead in a second-story bedroom.

Upon entering the home, deputies found a 58-year-old man and 57-year-old woman dead with gunshot wounds, police said. Detectives and crime scene investigators were then called to the home to continue the investigation.

Evidence from the scene suggests it was isolated incident and there is no danger to the public, police said.