Note found at scene of double shooting in LV

Sorry, please forgive us, take care of Lilly, Ma and Pa.

That's how a Las Vegas police report sums up a note found Thursday at the scene of what is being investigated as a slaying and attempted suicide.

Police said Joseph Woods, 86, shot his wife, Kay Woods, 80, in the back before turning the gun on himself.

Two of the couple's children found them shot in bed in their home at 1808 S. 10th St., near St. Louis Avenue and Maryland Parkway, on Thursday morning.

Joseph Woods survived a self-inflicted gunshot to the abdomen and was arrested.

"I shot my wife and then I shot myself," Joseph Woods told officers, the police report states.

The incident was the fifth murder-suicide or attempted murder-suicide in the past three weeks investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Friends and family of the couple said Friday that they were surprised by the shootings.

Kay Woods' sister-in-law Dorothy Dorler said the couple loved bingo and Pomeranian dogs.

One of their dogs might be who is referred to as Lilly in the note found on the kitchen table of the Woods' home.

It is unknown who penned the note.

Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said Thursday that the motive appeared to be that the couple was "elderly and sick."

Dorler, who last spoke with Kay Woods a few weeks ago, said she mentioned a recent surgery for a pinched nerve in her neck but seemed lighthearted about her health.

"She said, 'I got problems, I guess I've fallen apart,' " Dorler said. "She sounded good, though."

She didn't know Joseph Woods' medical condition.

Dorler said she and her husband spent several winters living in the Woods' studio apartment in the back of their property. The Woods' son Paul now lives in the building.

The semi-automatic handgun found at the scene was registered to Paul Woods, according to the police report.

Neighbor Lori Michaels said she spoke with Paul Woods on Thursday.

"All he said was 'My parents tried to commit suicide,' " she said. "They just didn't seem like that kind of people."

Michaels said the couple and their son "always got along good" and he often took them for walks in the neighborhood.

According the police report, another one of the Woods children, Joseph Woods Jr., called his sister about 6:25 a.m. Thursday because "something was wrong at Mom's house." The siblings entered the home and found the note on the kitchen table and their parents in bed.

Kay Woods was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the police report, she was lying on her left side and evidence showed the shot was fired through a towel into her upper right shoulder. A 9 mm cartridge casing was found near her body.

Joseph Woods Jr. told investigators his father suffered a gunshot wound to the left part of his abdomen but was still breathing and clutching a gun when he arrived. He took the gun from his father's hand and placed it on a shelf in the hallway, the report states.

Joseph Woods told police, "I shot my wife and then I shot myself," according to the report.

He was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center where he underwent surgery. His condition was not available Friday.

Joseph Woods was booked in absentia into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of murder with a deadly weapon.

Dorler said Joseph Woods is retired from the Army and Kay Woods worked in airport security and later in food service for a school. She said the couple lived in Las Vegas for more than 40 years.

Contact reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.