Man Allegedly Commits Murder-Suicide in Front of TX Church's Altar

A Helotes, Texas, Catholic church is the center of investigations after an apparent murder-suicide took place inside on Wednesday. Currently, police are attempting to put details together surrounding how two bodies ended up in front of the church's altar.

The current theory is that Manuel Rodriguez, 51, shot and killed Zeferina Castillo, 54, before taking his own life. The bodies were discovered inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church -- a shock to congregants and the community, alike. No one is quite sure why the couple showed up at the church in the first place, considering that neither was a parishioner.

While motivation has not been determined, authorities believe that Rodriguez shot Castillo numerous times in her upper torso, then turned the gun on himself. Anthony Burgess, a spokesperson for the police, says the two "were involved -- apparently for a while."

MySanAntonio.com has more:

Witnesses at the church said the pair were well dressed and composed when they walked in together, apparently after arriving in separate vehicles, Burgess said.

“There was no push, no grab, no tussle. It looked like they were just walking into church,” he said. “There was nothing out of the ordinary.”

Motion-sensitive CCTV cameras captured the couple walking toward the altar, but when they stopped moving, the recording ceased as well. Around 3:00 p.m. local time, gunshots were heard and the two were later found between a baptismal font and the altar; the pistol Rodriguez purportedly used was between the bodies.

Castillo, a local businesswoman, has been heralded by those she left behind as kind and giving. The owner of Castillo Mission Funeral Home -- a business she helped her husband start before his death in 2007 -- Castillo was said to be helpful to the families her business served.

“Her direction to us was that we utilize our hearts to provide dignified services for our families, and that's all she asked of us,” said Art Gandar, a manager at the funeral home.

(H/T: FOX News)