September 14, 2020 1:30 p.m.

A Dillard man shot and killed his live-in girlfriend before turning the gun on himself Sunday evening.

Sergeant Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said at about 5:10 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call saying a woman had been shot in the 100 block of First Street in Dillard. O’Dell said dispatchers attempted to obtain additional information but the man calling disconnected the phone. A deputy briefly spoke to the man on the phone while responding to the address. O’Dell said the man told the deputy to “have a good one” and then a gunshot was heard.

When deputies arrived, a fatal gunshot was heard inside the home. Deputies entered the residence and located 88-year old Thomas Higgenbothom with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and a weapon on his lap. Deputies also located 63-year old Linda Free, also of Dillard, in another room with a gunshot wound.

O’Dell said Free was pronounced deceased at the scene. Higgenbothom was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg via ambulance. The man remains in critical condition and is not expected to survive.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident as an apparent murder – suicide. The Douglas County Medical Examiner’s Office also responded.