Police await forensic test results in Perry County fatal shooting

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Authorities are interviewing witnesses and awaiting results of forensic tests to determine whether a shooting that claimed the lives of a Perryville couple was a murder-suicide or a double suicide.

The bodies of Shawn J. Galeski, 36, and his girlfriend, Jamie L. Cole, 29, both of Perryville, were found about 2:15 p.m. Friday in a locked upstairs room at Galeski's residence on Route E, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf reported Saturday.

Each victim was killed by a single gunshot to the head, Schaaf reported.

"We're at the point now that we're between two choices," he said Sunday. "The way we found it, we kind of leaned toward the murder-suicide, but we have one or two more people to talk to."

Investigators are sending forensic evidence for testing, Schaaf said. Evidence such as gunpowder residue could help officers determine what happened, he said. He did not know when the department would receive the test results.

Only one weapon was involved in the shooting, Schaaf said. He declined to release specifics about the type of gun.

Schaaf emphasized there is no threat to the public.

"We're pretty certain that nobody else was involved," he said.

Online court records show Galeski was served with a full order of protection in January 2003 after being accused of adult abuse, and in February 2003, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charged of delivery or possession of a prohibited item at a jail.

"We had dealt with Galeski some in the past, but we hadn't had any trouble with him lately," Schaaf said Saturday.

According to online court records, Cole's only encounter with police was a 2012 incident in which she apparently was caught with drug paraphernalia after being stopped for driving without adequate taillights. She pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanors in connection with the case.

Southeast Missouri has seen several high-profile suicides and suicide attempts in recent weeks.

George Joseph, 48, is accused of killing his wife and son before turning the gun on himself in a failed suicide attempt May 30 at the family's Cape Girardeau home.

David Salzmann, 44, faces charges of assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of an order of protection in connection with a June 9 explosion on North Spanish Street; he is accused of setting off a pipe bomb inside his car in an attempt to kill himself outside the house where his estranged wife was staying.

Tuesday morning, Cape Girardeau police responded to a call just north of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, where a man apparently shot himself to death in a parking lot on Southeast Missouri State University property.

In Perryville, police responded to a call Saturday about a man running on a road with his throat cut; when they found the man, police determined the wound was self-inflicted, Schaaf said.

Farther north, a man fatally shot himself and three employees Thursday at a small business on Cherokee Street in St. Louis.

Darin Hickey, a public information officer with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said suicides do not follow seasonal patterns, the way other problems may.

For instance, motorcycle accidents tend to increase in the summer, when the weather is warm and more people are out riding, and burglaries go up around Christmas, but suicide attempts are more random, he said.

"There's no time for we're going to see more suicides or attempted suicides," Hickey said. "It fluctuates just like other crimes do. We may see some to where there's several in a short time frame, and then we may go a long period of time without them."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Route E, Perry County, Mo.