Sandra L. Oliphant Martin, a 74-year-old female, died on December 5, 2018, in the Kingston/Swoyersville area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in a case that authorities later determined was a murder-suicide. Online reports identify her death as the result of gun violence, and the Luzerne County coroner’s findings placed the tragedy inside the Martins’ family residence rather than as a random public attack.
According to the reported coroner’s ruling, Sandra and her husband, Anthony Martin, were both found dead from gunshot wounds to the head. Sandra’s manner of death was ruled homicide, while Anthony’s was ruled suicide. The coroner said the physical evidence at the scene made the case “clear-cut” as to the manner of death, indicating investigators did not treat it as an open-ended search for an unknown outside assailant.
The investigation involved the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office, Swoyersville police, and Pennsylvania State Police. Authorities concluded that Anthony Martin was responsible for Sandra Martin’s death before taking his own life. Because the suspected killer died at the scene, there were no reported arrests, criminal charges, trial proceedings, or conviction connected to Sandra’s homicide.
The case appears to have closed around the murder-suicide determination rather than continuing as an unsolved homicide. Publicly available reporting does not describe a known motive, prior warning signs, a 911 call timeline, or detailed circumstances leading up to the shooting. What remains in the record is a brief but stark account of a domestic tragedy: Sandra Martin was killed in her home, her husband was identified through the investigation as the person responsible, and the possibility of prosecution ended with his suicide.
