Maricopa County Sheriff’s detectives say they believe the case of a Fountain Hills couple found dead at their home on Centipede Drive July 22 is a murder suicide.

The bodies of Lawrence Reed, 45, and Sandra Kualls, 42, were found last Wednesday morning by a postal carrier making a delivery to the home.

The carrier went to the door with a parcel for which he needed a signature.

He found Kualls’ body just outside the front door and Reed’s body was just inside the door.

The first deputies to arrive on the scene secured the area and found no one else in the residence. The scene was turned over to detectives with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit. They secured a search warrant before beginning their investigation.

It was a tense time for the neighborhood, since little information was being released by authorities. On Thursday they did say no outside suspects were being sought.

In a statement released late Friday, MCSO spokesman Chris Hegstrom said detectives believe Reed shot Kualls and then turned the gun on himself.

Hegstrom said the investigation is continuing.

Area residents said the couple kept to themselves and no one in the neighborhood seems to know much about them.

A Facebook post by Kualls last fall shortly after the couple was married indicates she was very happy to have found Reed and was looking forward to their life together.

“I’m very lucky,” she wrote in response to well-wishes after posting a wedding photo.

“Those of you who know me, will know that he is a quality person who is exceptional, unique, talented, and loving. He is better than I thought could exist.

“I’m glad I waited to meet the right person for me. I look forward to our journey through life together.”

However, the puzzle being pieced together by other media indicates Reed was a man with troubled relationships.

Court records reviewed by media indicate that Reed had at least once threatened suicide. Reports are that Reed had been married at least four times since 2001, and at least a couple of reports of misdemeanor domestic violence incidents.

One of his former wives asked for a court order of protection against Reed in 2008. In that petition the woman stated Reed had threatened her with a gun.

Reed was employed as an IT supervisor at a Phoenix medical company. He recently left that job. A former co-worker who said she had known Reed for more than 10 years said he recently indicated he was having problems in his relationship.

Kualls was employed by Apollo Education Group.