Murder-Suicide at UL Monroe Involved Beloved Professor

A very sad story out of Monroe reminds us how fragile life can be.

Assistant Professor of Communications and communications program director at the University of Louisiana Monroe Joshua Comer was murdered over the weekend in the north Louisiana town of Mer Rouge. According to People, the popular teacher was allegedly shot by his father in law on Sunday night, who then went on to kill himself.

Members of the Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Office and Mer Rouge police were called to the residence on Sunday night, January 17th, to investigate a report that shots were fired. KNOE in Monroe discloses that Chief of Police Melvin Holmes confirmed that the residence was located on Handy Hill Road.

They found 39-year-old Joshua Comer, who was dead from gunshot wounds, and 68 year old Jack Matthews, also deceased, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Matthews was the father in law of Comer, and owner of Mer Rouge Wholesale warehouse of Sterlington. Law enforcement officials are saying that the scene suggested an altercation happened in the home before the deaths. Mer Rouge is a community of about 600 and Chief Holmes told KNOE "everybody knows everybody.”

UL Monroe President Ronald Berry released a statement earlier this week that said “The ULM family is shocked and saddened by the loss of Dr. Joshua Comer. Christine and I offer our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to his family and his many students and colleagues,” See the statement from the University's Twitter page below.