OGDEN, Utah -- Police have released the identities of the two people who died Friday at an Ogden residence.
Police say 52-year-old Richard Candland killed his estranged wife, 52-year-old Cynthia Candland, before killing himself.
Cynthia Candland taught at Weber State University. FOX 13 spoke with her friends and colleagues Monday.
“My heart bleeds for them,” said Jalene Ward, neighbor and friend of the Candlands’.
Neighbors on a quiet Ogden street were rattled Friday night as their front yards became a crime scene.
“I wasn’t as scared as I just knew something bad had happened in this area,” Ward said.
At approximately 5 p.m., Ogden police were called to the Candland’s home. The couple’s daughter had called 911 after she was shot in the hand while fleeing from her enraged father.
“She was shot at, she was able to escape from that home and call for assistance,” said Lt. Danielle Croyle with Ogden police.
When police arrived they found Cindy and Richard Candland dead from gunshot wounds inside the home, saying the incident appears to be a murder-suicide.
“Richard had been estranged from his wife Cynthia they were in the process of getting a divorce,” Croyle said.
Cindy Candland was first a student at Weber State’s nursing school and she came back to teach. She was known as a valuable member of the Weber State family, whose absence will be felt for years to come.
"Complete devastation, that it could happen to someone as sweet and gentle as Cindy,” said Susan Thornton, chair of the Weber State School of Nursing.
Ward also spoke fondly of Richard Candland who she knew as Dave. He fixed her roof for free one winter when she couldn’t afford the repairs. It was also during that time he admitted to battling depression.
“We talked and he said he struggled also, but with depression, and that he was trying really hard and stuff,” Ward said.
Co-worker's of Cindy Candland’s said she was the last person they'd suspect as a victim of domestic violence, but looking back there were signs.
"She did fear for her life but it had only been over the past few months, it was a sudden change that had taken place in her family life,” Thornton said.
Cindy Candland was currently working directly with about 40 nursing students at Weber State, but the school’s staff had seen her touch the lives of hundreds in her years with the school.
“She was one of the sweetest gentlest persons that I’ve ever met. She actually was a very sincere dedicated nurse educator,” Thornton said.
