Cypress : Police Blame Arguments in Murder-Suicide Case

As their investigation continued, police said Wednesday that “heated arguments” led to the murder-suicide of a Cypress couple found inside their burned home.

Henry Dee Fisher, 31, apparently hanged himself in the garage of his Vonnie Lane residence Tuesday afternoon, apparently after fatally bludgeoning his girlfriend, 29-year-old Laurie J. Olson, Police Lt. Bob Bandurraga said.

According to a coroner’s report, the woman died from a fractured skull and had wounds to the upper torso caused by a blunt object, Bandurraga said. The weapon has not yet been determined. Fisher died from suffocation as a result of the hanging, according to a coroner’s report.

Two fires were “deliberately set” to cover up the bludgeoning of the woman, Bandurraga said. One fire was set in the bedroom where she was found when firefighters arrived at the scene Tuesday, the other in the rear bedroom, he said.

Police are classifying the incident as a murder-suicide but are waiting for toxicology reports, “just to rule out the possibility of further foul play,” Bandurraga said.

Neighbors who knew the couple said they had a history of violent domestic arguments. One neighbor said he heard them arguing as he left his home Tuesday morning.