The Porter County Sheriff’s Police has released the names of the Pleasant Township couple found dead at their home near Kouts early Tuesday morning, in an apparent murder/suicide.

The victim, Cheryl Miller, 52, was found to have multiple gunshot wounds to her back, Coroner Chuck Harris told the Chesterton Tribune today; her estranged husband, Frederick Miller, 59, a single gunshot wound to the head.

An autopsy was scheduled for this morning in Mishawaka. Harris was unable to say what sort of gun was used in the incident.

According to police, sometime prior to 3 a.m. Frederick Miller—who in April had been served with a protective order and removed from the residence at 1269S 200E—went to his wife’s home and threw a “flammable device” through a window. Both Cheryl Miller and her 19-year-old son were in the house at the time, police said, and the son, after hearing gunshots from near the residence, was able to flee and call 911.

On their arrival, officers found the home fully engulfed and Cheryl Miller deceased in the driveway and Frederick Miller deceased elsewhere on the property, police said.

“This case is being investigated as a possible murder/suicide and there is no evidence that suggests anyone else being involved in the incident,” police said.

Posted 5/1/2011