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Husband, wife identified in Jefferson County murder-suicide

The sheriff's office believes Steven Gentemann shot and killed his wife, Kirstin Gentemann, and then killed himself.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — A husband and wife died in what the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office called a domestic-related murder-suicide.

In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office said the shooting happened at around 10:45 a.m. Monday in a home on Fenton Ridge Drive in Fenton. The post said the department received two 911 calls about the shooting, one from neighbors and one from the female victim's cell phone.

The post said during the call from the victim's phone, dispatchers who answered the call heard comments from inside the home followed by gunshots. The other call came in at around the same time, and neighbors said two teenagers who lived in the home had run away after hearing gunshots.

“I hope that they didn’t see anything worse than an argument," said a neighbor who only identified herself as Bridget.

When deputies arrived on the scene of the shooting, they entered the home to find a man and a woman dead from gunshot wounds. Police said they found a gun in the man's hand.

The woman was identified Tuesday as 47-year-old Kirstin Gentemann. She was found with multiple gunshot wounds, Sheriff Dave Marshak said. Her husband, 57-year-old Steven Gentemann, was found with a single, self-inflicted wound, Marshak added. Investigators believe he shot and killed his wife and then shot himself.

The two teens who ran away from the home were not injured.

Sheriff Marshak said there was no apparent reported history of domestic violence between the husband and wife.

“Far too often, unfortunately, we see that it’s too late," said Jefferson Co. Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Grant Bissell. "Somebody is in a dire situation before they reach out for help.”

“You just really never know what is going on in people's homes until something tragic like this happens," said Bridget.

“Domestic situations can go bad very quickly, even if it’s the first one, and they can end tragically," said Bissell. "Anybody who is in one of those situations I would highly encourage to reach out.”

A chaplain for the department responded to the scene to help the family and the responding officers. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," the sheriff's office said in the post.

RESOURCES

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has two full-time victim services coordinators who can help in domestic violence situations. They can be reached weekdays from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. by calling 636-797-5017 or 636-797-5048.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the Safe Connections Crisis Helpline at 314-531-2003. You can also text that number from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, free of charge. https://safeconnections.org/

Alternatives to Living In Violent Environments (ALIVE) also has a crisis line at 314-993-2777 and they have a number for Franklin County at 800-941-9144. https://alivestl.org/

The Women's Safe House can be reached 24 hours a day at 314-772-4535. https://twsh.org/

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