ELYRIA — The deaths of victim advocate Margaret McCoy and her husband, Virgil, earlier this year have been ruled a murder-suicide — a ruling that the Lorain County coroner said was bolstered by a 911 call from Virgil McCoy the night both died.
Margaret McCoy was shot twice in the head on the evening of April 15 before Virgil McCoy called 911 and then turned the gun on himself, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans said.
Listen to the 911 call:
There was no suicide note, and the bodies were found about noon the next day by relatives.
Evans said Elyria police later determined that Virgil McCoy had called 911 at 10:14 p.m. April 15 and said in a low voice that he had shot his wife.
The 911 dispatcher apparently did not hear him, and the call was transferred to Elyria police, but McCoy hung up after a few words, so no one realized until later that help was needed, Evans said.
Margaret McCoy, 65, was found on the floor of a rear porch of her home at Pikewood Manor mobile home park near Midway Mall and her glasses were found outside, Evans said.
“There was a belief from Elyria police that there was a struggle because her glasses were found in the yard and she was found in the breezeway,” Evans said.
Virgil “Gene” McCoy, 63, was in a chair inside the home with a .38-caliber revolver nearby. He also had been shot in the head, according to police.
911 Director Robin Jones said the 911 dispatcher was not disciplined because she did not hear McCoy say he shot his wife.
There is background noise in the call center including other calls and the police scanner, Jones said.
“The call was handled per procedure,” Jones said.
In the brief 911 recording at 10:14 p.m. April 15, McCoy is questioned by the 911 operator about whether he needs police, fire or an ambulance. He said he needed police and the 911 operator asked for the location.
McCoy replied, “I want to tell you what’s happening first — I just killed my wife.”
In the event the 911 dispatcher had heard McCoy say he killed his wife, she would have told police exactly what they were dealing with, Jones said.
Before transferring the call to Elyria police, the 911 dispatcher can be heard confirming McCoy’s cell phone number and asking McCoy for his address — 187 Gull Drive.
McCoy hung up quickly after being transferred to Elyria police, Elyria police Lt. Chris Costantino said.
“The call was transferred to our dispatcher,” Costantino said. “Mr. McCoy started to say, he just — then he hung up the phone and did not finish his statement.”
Police were not aware of the contents of the call to 911 — both the address and the statement that McCoy killed his wife, Costantino said. They did not check on the McCoys because police cannot trace the location of a cell phone call, he said.
The front door of the mobile home at 187 Gull Drive was unlocked when police arrived the next day, police said.
There was no note, and family members told authorities they had last spoken with the couple at about 6 p.m. April 15.
The motive for the killing remains a mystery, Elyria police Sgt. Lee Frank said.
“We’ll never know — there’s no note or any indication they were having problems, Frank said.
Margaret McCoy worked at the Genesis House shelter for battered women, where she worked with domestic violence victims in Oberlin Municipal Court.
Staff reporter Kiera Manion-Fischer also contributed to this report. Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
