Police Rule Temple Deaths A Murder-Suicide

The deaths of a Temple couple have been ruled a murder-suicide by the State Medical Examiner's Office.

According to Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland, autopsies on Thomas and Michelle Masse showed that both died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

McCausland said police were called to the home in Temple after Masse called the Franklin Sheriff’s dispatch center about 5:50 am and said he was going to shoot himself.

According to McCausland, the first police responders to the home were Franklin Deputy Bradley Scovil and Farmington Police Officer Kevin Lemay. Shortly after arriving about 6 am, Scovil called the cell phones of the couple, but with no success, McCausland said.  Additional calls were made to the home after State Troopers and other deputies arrived.

The State Police tactical team and their crisis negotiation team began arriving at the home by mid-morning, McCausland added.

According to McCausland, Tactical Team members entered the home about 12:30 pm and found the two bodies in two separate rooms.  McCausland said Michelle Masse’s body was in the bath tub and Thomas Masse’s body was sitting in a chair in the living room with a handgun by his side. Investigators say Masse shot his wife and then shot himself.