A Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, man choked his estranged wife and used a chainsaw to kill her before ending his own life with the machine, the county coroner ruled Wednesday.
Nicole Peppelman, 43, was murdered in the basement of the family's home along the 1100 block of Country Lane in Lower Moreland just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.
Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Walter Hofman said the mother of three suffered gaping cutting wounds to her abdomen from a chainsaw. She also was stabbed in the neck and choked, an autopsy revealed.
Her husband, 48-year-old Christopher Peppelman, then took the chainsaw to his right thigh and abdomen, according to the coroner's report. His death was ruled a suicide.
The couple's 14-year-old son discovered the bloody scene, officials said. The chainsaw was laying next to them. Their other two children were not home.
Friends told NBC10 that the couple had been separated and police said they had been to the home for domestic issues in the past.
Police and prosecutors continue to investigate the case.
