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Bucks couple dead in murder-suicide, police say
A Bucks County couple embroiled in a contentious divorce were found dead in their Levittown home Tuesday in an apparent murder-suicide.
Ethelyn Vender, 52, had been shot twice by her husband, Russell, 54, who then turned the gun on himself, Bucks County Coroner Joseph Campbell said last night.
The couple had been married for 35 years, court records show. Ethelyn Vender recently filed for divorce, accusing her husband of adultery and abuse.
Her body was found in an upstairs bedroom. His was in an adjacent bathroom, Campbell said.
The divorce case had been scheduled for a hearing Monday in Bucks County Court. It was unclear whether that hearing occurred.
Ethelyn Vender was seeking to evict her husband from the home and to freeze bank accounts from which he had allegedly removed her name.
Her attorney had sought a postponement, saying that Russell Vender had recently injured his back and that the couple wanted time "to attempt to resolve their differences directly."
The attorney, Stacey L. Smith, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
In court records, Ethelyn Vender said that her husband had cheated on her, was addicted to morphine, and suffered from bipolar disorder.
She alleged that Russell Vender had attacked her with a crowbar in 2006 and had shoved her during an argument in September. She said that her husband orally abused her constantly and that she had suffered a stress-related heart attack last year.
Russell Vender recently had threatened that his wife "will get what is coming to her," she alleged in court records.
There is no indication that Ethelyn Vender sought a protection-from-abuse order against her husband. Although she claimed to have filed a police report after the alleged crowbar attack, it does not appear that charges were ever filed against him.
Contact staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com.
