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Murder-suicide ruled in Hollis deaths

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Apr 1, 2019

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS A Hollis police officer speaks with the driver of the State Police Major Crimes Unit van outside 5 Deer Run Drive in Hollis on Saturday afternoon. The deaths of two people found in the house has been ruled murder-suicide.

HOLLIS – The man and woman found dead in a home in the southern part of town Saturday were both shot in the head in what authorities are calling a murder-suicide.

The death of Alisa Mayo, 41, was ruled a homicide, while Brian McDonough, 51, died of suicide, according to the results of an autopsy state Chief Medical Examiner Jennie Duval conducted Sunday, authorities said.

The bodies were found in a large, 9-room cape-style home at 5 Deer Run Drive late Saturday morning. Police said Hollis officers discovered them when they responded to the home to check the welfare of the occupants.

Although the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths is continuing, authorities said it appears McDonough “shot and killed Mayo then shot and killed himself,” according to a statement issued Sunday evening.

While they said McDonough and Mayo know each other, investigators didn’t describe the nature of their relationship.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS The State Police Major Crimes Unit van backs into the driveway at 5 Deer Run Drive in Hollis on Saturday to assist in the investigation into the murder-suicide that claimed the life of Alisa Mayo and Brian McDonough.

Deer Run Drive is a cul-de-sac that runs off North Pepperell Road about 100 yards from the Hollis-Pepperell, Mass. town line. The neighborhood of mostly upscale homes was built in the 1980s.

The owners of 5 Deer Run are listed as Col. Ronald Bowen and Sally A. Bowen, who are believed to be the parents of Alisa Mayo.

An obituary for Caylin Bowen, 19, who died in her Brookline home in January 2017, lists her mother as Alisa (Bowen) Mayo, and Caylin’s maternal grandparents as Ronald and Sally Bowen.

Shortly after police discovered the bodies late Saturday morning, the State Police Major Crimes Unit van arrived at the scene. After speaking briefly with local officers and state troopers, the driver backed the van into the driveway, where investigators came and went for several hours.

By Sunday morning, the road was open to traffic and the State Police Major Crime Scene van had departed. Two police officers, one from Hollis and one from Brookline, stood at the end of the driveway speaking with several civilians.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Holls and Brookline police officers and state police troopers meet in front of 5 Deer Run Drive on Saturday to begin their investigation into the deaths of a man and woman found inside the house. Officials on Sunday ruled the deaths murder-suicide.

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