On a summer afternoon in West Boylston, Massachusetts, the lives of a long-married couple came to a tragic end. Robert Chisholm, a 78-year-old Caucasian male, and his 79-year-old wife, Dolores C. Chisholm, were discovered in their car on June 25, 2018, in an industrial park parking lot on Hartwell Street. Both had sustained fatal gunshot wounds in what authorities would later describe as an apparent shooting.
Police responded to the scene at the former town hall's rear parking lot around 2:30 p.m. Inside the vehicle, they found the couple. Dolores was pronounced dead at the scene, while Robert was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after. The discovery launched an immediate investigation by West Boylston Police and the Worcester County District Attorney's office, which assured the public that there was no ongoing danger.
As investigators worked to piece together the final moments of the couple's lives, a second scene emerged at their home on Hillside Village Road. There, officials reported finding notes left by the couple. While the contents of the notes were not publicly disclosed, their discovery was a key element in the investigation. The Worcester County District Attorney's office later announced that the deaths were the result of a suicide, though specifics of the circumstances were not detailed. The case concluded without any arrests or the naming of external suspects, leaving a quiet end to a community tragedy.
