Photo courtesy of Lisa Poirier Fire apparatus and police cars fill Mt. Pleasant St. Sunday night, as crews battle the fire and police begin to investigate the death of the woman whose body was found inside. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Poirier)

DERRY – A single gunshot wound to the head caused the death Sunday night of Lynn Marie Viana, the 53-year-old former Derry woman whose body was found inside 27 Mt. Pleasant St. by firefighters as they battled the fire that broke out moments after neighbors heard what sounded like gunshots, officials said Tuesday.

A statement from the office of Deputy Attorney General Jane Young said Viana’s estranged husband, Manoel Viana, 57, is suspected of shooting her, then setting the house ablaze, allegedly with the use of “ignitable liquids” that investigators detected “on, or around, Lynn Marie Viana’s body,” as well as “within the residence,” according to the statement.

Manoel Viana, who was pulled from the burning building by three police officers, suffered life-threatening injuries, including burns and “apparent trauma to his head,” for which he is being treated at a Boston hospital, officials said.

Young said in the statement that should Manoel Viana recover sufficiently from his injuries, she intends “to seek a charge of first-degree murder” against him, based on allegations “that he purposely caused the death of Lynn Marie Viana by shooting her in the head.”

The statement also notes that although the alleged victim is presumed to be Lynn Marie Viana, “final identification” of the body remains pending.

Investigators have determined that the series of incidents that led to the alleged shooting and fire began around 10 p.m., shortly after Lynn Marie Viana arrived at 27 Mt. Pleasant St. to conduct what officials termed “a custody exchange of their adult child.”

Neither the age or identity of the adult child was provided, nor did investigators say if he or she was present at the time of the alleged incidents.

They did say that Manoel Viana invited Lynn Marie Viana inside the house at some point after she arrived.

Shortly after she entered the residence, according to the statement, “two noises, consistent with gunshots, were heard from within the residence.

“Shortly thereafter, the residence was engulfed in fire,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the three Derry police officers who rescued Manoel Viana – Nathan Lavoie, Collin Kennedy and Nikita Tomnyuk – had forced entry to look for possible occupants when they found him lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.

The officers were unable to re-enter the house “due to smoke and fire conditions,” officials said.

They sustained minor injuries for which they received medical treatment at a local hospital.

They are expected to return to work as scheduled, investigators said.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.