CJI superintendent, wife, found dead of gunshots

The bodies of Chester-Joplin-Inverness Schools Superintendent Francis Labounty and his wife, Tanya LaBounty, were found dead, each with a gunshot to the head, in Chester Tuesday at 11:29 a.m.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that a .357 revolver was recovered at the scene and that Tanya LaBounty had been living apart from her husband since Dec. 1, when Francis LaBounty had been arrested after a domestic disturbance was reported at their Chester home.

“Tanya LaBounty obtained a protective order against her husband and was living in a separate residence where the shootings occurred,” the news release says.

The bodies have been taken to Billings for autopsies.

CJI Principal Rita Chvilicek said in a voice mail to the Havre Daily News this morning that CJI School went into lockdown “due to an incident that occurred in Chester” and added in an email that the lockdown happened Tuesday and school was in session today.

Watch for more in Thursday’s Havre Daily News.