Christmas Day murder-suicide reported in Lowell

Police responded to an apparent murder-suicide in Lowell on Christmas Day. 

Lowell Police responded to a Beacon Street home on Sunday at about 1:38 p.m., according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office. 

When they arrived, officers found 60-year-old Jose Santiago and his wife, 55-year-old Rosa Santiago dead from apparent gunshot wounds. 

A preliminary investigation suggests that Jose Santiago shot and killed his wife before fatally shooting himself. The office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted autopsies Monday that determined Jose Santiago died by suicide and Rosa Santiago died by homicide, officials said. 

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Lowell Police, and Massachusetts State Police Detectives continue to investigate. No further information has been released.