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Family calls murder-suicide deaths 'tragic end to a true love story'

John's family called the shooting a “mercy killing” due to worsening medical issues in the home.

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — On Wednesday, JSO said a man who lived in Sans Souci called 911 to say he shot his wife and then was going to turn the gun on himself. The couple was later found by SWAT dead in their bedroom.

Family identified the couple as John and Gwenda Thombleson. 

>>If you don’t want to send your loved one to a nursing home, she says you can take them to a daycare for adults or seniors. There are multiple options around Jacksonville.

John's family called the shooting a “mercy killing” due to worsening medical issues in the home.

They say John and Gwenda were high school sweethearts and were married for nearly 50 years. 

John’s mother and sister say "he did it out of love" for Gwenda. 

On Thursday Gwenda’s side of the family echoed that sentiment, writing to First Coast News, saying, "I want everyone to know this incident was not a domestic dispute. Johnny Thombleson loved my sister Gwen with all his heart.”

The newly released police report confirms the incident was not domestic related, according to JSO.

Linda says her sister Gwenda had several mental disorders and a form of dementia. She wrote First Coast News, saying;

"Johnny became her 24/7 caretaker. Their lives were destroyed and he could no longer bear to see her suffering. He did this with a broken heart and knew he could not live without her. A tragic end to a true love story.”

Linda says if neighbors heard screaming from the house it wasn’t because he was hurting her; she says it was part of her illness.

Cari Eyre works with the Alzheimer’s Association in Jacksonville where they say they've seen this kind of tragic incident before. Eyre focuses on helping families deal with the pressure of dealing with mental illness.

"We need to recognize that that type of communication that we see is a type of agitation from the person who is experiencing the dementia, so they have a need that they are trying to communicate in some way," said Eyre. "We need to give the caregiver the tools and resources to decode that message."

Florida is number two in the country for the number of people dealing with forms of dementia, with more than a million caregivers statewide.

"It’s very difficult to leave the home and connect to an education program or support group."

If you don’t want to send your loved one to a nursing home, she says you can take them to a daycare for adults or seniors. There are multiple options around Jacksonville.

She also says trained city volunteers are available to come to your home to help for the day and if the situation is more severe hospice caregivers can help in home too.

If you can’t leave the home to join a support group, she recommends joining an online support group.

"If you don’t need the group yourself, you can be the person to show up and support someone else."

First Coast News found a list of a couple other calls to 911 from John and Gwenda's home recently. Gwenda’s sister Linda says she was here for some of those calls. She says her sister became a harm to herself because of her mental illness.

She says the two will have a joint funeral and be buried together.

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