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The newspaper still sits unopened outside the Branford trailer home of Arthur and Esther Johnson. A family member found their bodies inside just after midnight. Neighbors in the close-knit shoreline trailer park say the Johnsons were a loving couple who spent a great deal of time together. Sue Barringer, Neighbor: "I always thought to myself, I'd like to be that old and that energetic... Never had a cross word about anybody." Branford police would only say both victims were ill and that their deaths were sudden, but the medical examiner confirmed this afternoon that 77 year old Arthur Johnson shot his 73 year old wife several times in the head, and then shot himself in the head and chest. Those who knew the couple are in shock. Tracy Inorio, Friend: "I would always watch their trailer when they went on the boat, they would comment on how the kids were getting big." But some say the Johnsons were recently talking about selling their boat, and their trailer. Jeanine Ford, Neighbor "They never looked sick, never looked unhappy, no pain or anything." But they were sick, and something caused them to lose their will to live. Neighbors say the Johnsons called their son every day. When they didn't call him yesterday, he went to their home and found their bodies. ©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT |