The autopsies on a Pleasanton mother and her 13-year-old daughter who were found shot to death in their home Monday night was inconclusive, the coroner said. But both mother and daughter suffered a single gunshot to the head, the report said, and it's most likely the teenager didn't shoot herself.
Lt. Jeff Bretzing said Amy Freeman Burton, 37, was discovered dead inside her Stacey Court home about 6 p.m. after police responded to a 911 call from Freeman Burton's husband, who had just returned from work. The couple's daughter, Ainsley Freeman, was also found shot, and died later at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. She had been a student at Hart Middle School.
The coroner said the evidence suggests that Ainsley did not shoot herself. Still, Bretzig said police are treating this is a homicide investigation until they get test results back on the bullets and handgun found near the bodies.
The coroner said of the mother's wound: "It is still unclear whether or not Amy’s wound was self-inflicted, but that is not being ruled out."
The report also said the bullets recovered from the victims were consistent with those found in the handgun found near their bodies.
The family was very "sweet," a neighbor told NBC Bay Area, and they had recently moved to the Bay Area from Missouri.
Police found two unregistered handguns during a search of the home. Christopher Burton, Amy Burton's husband, told investigators they got the guns from his brother in Arizona.
Christopher Burton told investigators his wife recently became paranoid after their daughter was text messaging with a suspicious person in Kentucky. In February, the couple reported this to the police and FBI. An investigation revealed the person was a 16-year-old boy who was not committing a crime communicating with the daughter through text messages and photos, police said.
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Police said there is no known connection between the incident with the daughter and the shootings.
Police told NBC Bay Area that the husband is not being considered a suspect at this time.
The lab results regarding the gun is not expected to be available until sometime next week. "Until that time, we are unable to determine the exact nature of the shootings and investigators will continue to follow up on all leads," the coroner said.
Anyone with information about the shooting should call Pleasanton police at 925-931-5100.
