The Gloucester Sheriff’s Office is investigating the apparent murder/suicide of a husband and wife. Deputies were called to 11369 George Washington Highway around 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8, where they found the bodies of 51-year-old Robert Harper and his wife, 40-year-old Lisa Harper, according to GSO Chief Deputy Darrell Warren. He said both were victims of gunshot wounds.

Lisa Harper lived at the house with her two teenage children, Warren said, and her husband had been living in Mathews. He said the husband and wife had been separated for two to four weeks. Warren said it appeared the deaths were a result of a murder/suicide but a final determination was pending a report from the medical examiner.

Known locally as amateur archaeologists, the Harpers most recently co-directed the Old Office archaeological project at Dutton. The site served as Gloucester County Clerk’s Office between 1720 and 1773 under the direction of John Clayton. Prior to that, the Harpers ...