UPDATED: Gardendale deaths

The bodies of two Gardendale residents are on the way to Fort Worth for autopsy after they were discovered in their home by family members Thursday afternoon.

Ector County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the double homicide in Gardendale.

Deputies were called to 1426 Western in Gardendale after 2:30 p.m. Thursday and found Lonnie Ray Cooper, 57, and his wife, Cindy Jennings Cooper, 58, dead.

Sheriff Mark Donaldson said his deputies are not looking for suspects in the case, but he stopped short of calling the case a murder-suicide.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene Thursday they found family members waiting. Donaldson identified those family members as the parents of Cindy Jennings Cooper. The parents told law enforcement officers that Lonnie Ray Cooper and Cindy Jennings Cooper were dead inside the residence.

Neighbors Dalton and Tricia Jones were arriving home from work Thursday as authorities began working the scene.

“It’s a real scary thing,” Tricia Jones said Friday. “This is Gardendale; this kind of thing doesn’t happen here.”

According to Dalton Jones, Lonnie Cooper suffered from depression after having a stroke.

A pastor who came to the Cooper home to be with family said Lonnie Cooper shot Cindy Jennings Cooper, Dalton Jones said.

Gunshot wounds are believed to be the cause of death at this time, according to a press release by Ector County Sgt. Debbie Bruce.

A .38 caliber revolver was found at the crime scene, Donaldson said.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Saturday on both individuals at the Fort Worth Medical Examiner. Donaldson said county investigators are traveling to the Metroplex to continue the investigation when the autopsies are complete.

Donaldson said he hopes to release more information on the case by Monday or Tuesday following the autopsies.