MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities near Brainerd say the two people found dead in a house fire at the end of April were the result of a murder-suicide.

Fire crews responded to a house fire at about 10:36 a.m. on April 30 on the 10500 block of Tranquil Road in Lake Edward Township in Crow Wing County. When authorities arrived, they found two bodies inside the residence. They were later identified as 56-yeawr-old Kenneth Alan Ponsness and 57-year-old Kathleen Marie Ponsness.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the incident was ruled a murder-suicide. They said Kenneth Ponsness set the fire to take Kathleen Ponsness’s life before taking his own.