Authorities Investigating Double Murder-Suicide In NW Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities are investigating a shooting and house fire that happened Saturday in northwestern Wisconsin as a double-murder suicide.

Authorities responded at about 11 a.m. to a residence at 16742 N Knutson Lake Road in the town of Edgewater after a woman reported that her son shot her husband and set their home on fire. Authorities lost contact with the woman on the way to the scene and repeated attempts to contact her again failed.

When law enforcement arrived to the scene, they found a man dead outside the residence, which was fully engulfed in flames. They identified the man found dead as 41-year-old Eric Werachowski.

Firefighters responded to the scene and, while they were able to put the blaze out, they found two more dead bodies at the residence. Authorities said autopsies are scheduled for all three people. The Sawyer County Sheriff's Office said it has reason to believe the other two dead will be identified as 62-year-old Richard Werachowski and 60-year-old Marilyn Werachowski.

Authorities said Werachowski's mother, Marilyn, died in the fire at the residence, while his father, Richard, either died in the fire or from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Authorities said Eric Werachowski died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.