La Pine man suspected of killing wife

Last modified: March 22. 2013 1:24PM PST

A La Pine man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife this morning.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Capt. Tim Edwards, deputies got a call about 8 a.m. about a deceased woman at a home on Old Mill Road in La Pine.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they found a woman, identified as Betty J. Loeffler, 83, dead of a gunshot wound on the back porch of the home.

Edwards declined to release where Loeffler was shot.

He said the man, identified as husband Lawrence Loeffler, 86, was compliant and cooperative during the investigation, and has been taken into custody. The Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office identified the shooting as a result of a domestic dispute.

Lawrence Loeffler has not yet been booked into the Deschutes County Jail, but the DA’s Office said the man will be booked on a charge of murder.

Deputies had not been previously called to the home for domestic disputes, although Edwards said there had been past calls related to neighborhood disputes.

An investigation is ongoing.

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