Police rule Lincoln County shooting deaths as murder/suicide

WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW

TOWN OF PINE RIVER, Wis. — Police say a Valentine’s Day shooting that left two people dead is now being treated as a murder/suicide, according to a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department news release.

Investigators were called at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 14 to a residence on Range Line Road, where they discovered 77-year-old Barbara Renken dead of an apparent gunshot wound. The victim’s husband, 78-year-old John Renken, was also shot; he was transported to an area hospital in critical condition, but later died of his injuries.

“At this point our investigation leads us to believe that this is a case of homicide/suicide,” officials said, in a March 13 release. “At this point we have no evidence to disprove this theory and continue to believe this is an isolated incident.”

Police say there is no danger to the public.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Lab processed the scene.