Update: This story has been updated to reflect Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem's 4 p.m. interview, after both decedents' autopsies.
There are no murder suspects on the loose after two people died Friday at the scene of a camper fire just north of Gillette, Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny reports.
Authorities believe 56-year-old Patrick M. Mahoney shot Steven E. Hague, 59, in the upper left shoulder area so that the bullet struck Hague's aorta. Mahoney then apparently shot himself in the head. They both died.
But investigators are not yet saying what caused the fire engulfing Mahoney and the camper when police, fire, and emergency personnel arrived midday Friday.
Deputies found the murder scene when they responded at about 11:06 a.m. that day, to a camper fire on Midland Road just north of Gillette, Matheny told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
First they found Hague, collapsed outside on the ground with a bullet wound near the blazing camper. Emergency personnel attempted CPR, said Matheny, but Hague was dead.
Blasting Projectiles
“Tiny explosions” sounded from the burning camper, from ammunition exploding in the fire, said Matheny. Deputies pulled Hague, who was outside, away from the fire while the rounds popped.
A body later found inside the camper “burnt beyond recognition” also had a bullet wound, the sheriff said.
Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem said the body has now been identified as Patrick M. Mahoney, 56.
The two men had a landlord and tenant relationship, as well as an employer/employee relationship, said Matheny, who noted that Mahoney also had a criminal record.
Wallem said investigators are still contemplating the unique angle of the bullet into Hague's aorta.
"(We're) trying to figure if he was bent over, or the shooter was from a heightened position - just trying to figure it out," said Wallem.
Police recovered several weapons from the camper, but they do not believe Hague was armed when he went into the conflict.
Both men's bullet wounds were from .308 caliber rounds, said Wallem.
No One’s Running
The sheriff’s office called both the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab and the arson investigation team to help with the investigation.
Matheny said there was no danger to the public at any time, as the conflict happened between the two men.
No neighboring structures suffered fire damage, Matheny said.
Wallem said toxicology reports are pending for both men, which is "standard procedure" but declined to comment on whether alcohol or drugs are apparent factors in the case at this point.
Reach Clair McFarland at Clair@CowboyStateDaily.com
