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74 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, June 3, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 2, 2005 David Kimball, left, comforts his son-in-law Darren Combee after their wives were found dead Wednesday inside Kimball�s home on Comice Way in Eagle Point. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Mother-daughter suicide Police believe the mother, 50, killed her 29-year-old daughter, and then herself By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — In what police say was an arranged event, a 50-year-old woman shot and killed her daughter before turning the gun on herself Wednesday inside her Comice Way home. Jeanette Marie Kimball and her daughter, Marie Catherine Combee, 29, of Medford, were found dead inside the house just before 3 p.m. by Kimball’s husband, said Eagle Point Police Chief David Strand. A typewritten note found inside the Kimballs’ yellow, single-story home indicated the deaths were planned. "Mom and daughter were very close and evidently they wanted to leave this world together," said Strand, who declined to disclose the contents of the note. "No, I won’t (discuss the note)," Strand said. "That’s family business." Advertisement Kimball’s husband, David Kimball, knew something was wrong when he returned home from a fishing trip and found the back door of his home locked. Once inside, he walked toward the master bedroom, where he discovered the bodies, Strand said. David Kimball ran across the street to a neighbor’s house and phoned 9-1-1 at 2:52 p.m. Strand said investigators did not locate anyone who heard gunshots in the neighborhood on Wednesday, meaning the incident could have occurred any time after 8:30 a.m., when David Kimball left his home to go fishing. Strand said investigators believe Jeanette Kimball shot her daughter once in the head with a bullet fired from a .357-caliber handgun, then shot herself. Two spent casings were found in the revolver’s cylinder. Strand, who was acquainted with Jeanette Kimball, said he did not know of any family problems that possibly motivated the shootings. He would not comment when asked if a mental-health issue could have been a factor in the deaths. "I knew her — just a great lady," Strand said. "I’m a little blown back by this." Area residents were caught off guard when Eagle Point police and Jackson County sheriff’s investigators descended on the neighborhood and cordoned off Comice Way with yellow crime-scene tape. "The neighbors didn’t hear any shots," said Beverly Lamb, a 40-year resident of Comice Way. "It’s a quiet neighborhood. (The Kimballs) are a nice couple." Lamb said David and Jeanette Kimball moved into the house at 12 Comice Way last year. While police stood guard around the home and processed evidence inside, several neighbors approached David Kimball and Darren Combee, Marie Combee’s husband, to offer their assistance. "I just wanted to let them know there is support there for them," said Virginia Rutherford, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years. Darren Combee and David Kimball were interviewed by detectives at the Eagle Point Police Department as part of the investigation, Strand said. Both men were visibly upset as they watched from a neighbor’s driveway while police worked at the Kimballs’ home. Strand said David Kimball gave police permission to search his home without a warrant. Besides locking the back door, Jeanette Kimball or her daughter also lodged a chair underneath the front door’s doorknob to keep anyone from entering, Strand said. Investigators worked inside the home for more than two hours before Strand emerged to say the incident appeared to be a murder-suicide. "It took us quite a while to figure this out," he said. "It’s just strange. ... People normally don’t do this." Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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