Libby couple was found shot to death last week

Lincoln County Sheriff's detectives believe the shooting deaths of two people at a state Department of Transportation building south of Libby was a murder-suicide.

Louise Plough, 54, shot her husband, Robert Plough, 49, twice in the torso and then turned the gun on herself, said Lincoln County Sheriff's Lt. Det. Jim Sweet.

The couple were separated and had been going through a divorce, Sweet said.

The shootings occurred sometime before 2 a.m. Friday when deputies found the bodies on the floor of a Department of Transportation building, located on U.S. 2 about three miles south of Libby.

Robert Plough, a seasonal department employee working a late shift, was leaving the building when he was confronted by Louise. According to an employee of Saint John's Lutheran Hospital, Louise may have been on her way there, Sweet said.

According to police, Louise had parked her car a safe distance away and approached from the building's blind side. She carried a loaded .38-caliber revolver, leaving the holster in the car. She had extra ammunition loose in her pocket.

"All indications were that she wasn't there to talk," Sweet said.

Louise fired three rounds at Robert, striking him twice in the torso. Then she turned the gun on herself and shot herself once in the neck.

Both were dead when investigators arrived.

A friend of Robert's went to look for him after trying to reach him and getting no response, Sweet said, explaining how the Sheriff's Office became aware of the slayings.

Both bodies have been sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for autopsies, Sweet said, adding that the case will not be officially closed until those results come back.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at [email protected]