HUBBARD Elderly couple and dog found dead in home

Police estimate the couple could have been dead as long as eight weeks.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- City police and the Trumbull County coroner are investigating the deaths of an elderly couple and their dog.
The bodies of Paul and Margaret Scharrer, both about 90, were discovered in their home at 533 Dorchester Drive shortly after noon Wednesday.
Paul Scharrer was found lying on the kitchen floor next to a mattress, and his wife was discovered on the living room couch.
Detective Robert Altiere said there was no sign of foul play and no sign of a break-in.
Altiere and Sgt. Ken Oyler said one of them may have died and the other lost the will to live.
Oyler described them as a "hermitlike couple."
No utilities: Police said there were canned foods and soft drinks in the house and the utilities had been shut off. The telephone was working.
There were no televisions or radios.
Altiere and Oyler said that the house was cold and could have preserved the bodies. They estimated the couple had been dead between three and eight weeks.
Tests showed there was no carbon monoxide in the house.
The coroner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Police said an autopsy may be performed on the dog.
Police were alerted Wednesday morning after a niece couldn't contact the couple by phone.
After it was determined that their mail had not been picked up at their post office box for about two months, police forced their way inside.
A car in the garage hadn't been driven for years, Altiere and Oyler said, though Paul Scharrer had been seen getting into a senior citizen van.
Oyler said police were called to the house about six months ago because the couple wouldn't answer the phone. A dog could be heard barking inside at that time. Before police forced their way into the home, the Scharrers answered the telephone.