More questions than answers in death of deputy, wife

NEWARK - There remain more questions than answers as the investigation continues in the deaths of a young couple inside their home on Price Road Thursday night.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is not releasing any new details after the bodies of Elizabeth Lewandowski, 24, and David Lewandowski, 34, were found around 8:15 p.m. Thursday inside their home. Sheriff Randy Thorp on Thursday night said a preliminary investigation showed the deaths were an apparent murder-suicide.

David was a deputy with the patrol division of the Licking County Sheriff's Office. Elizabeth was a registered nurse working at Licking Memorial Hospital. The couple had been married a little more than a year.

Licking Memorial Health Systems issued a statement Friday expressing sadness over their nurse's death.

"Licking Memorial Health Systems is deeply saddened with the news of the death of staff nurse Elizabeth Lewandowski, and we offer our deepest condolences to her family and friends," the hospital said.

She was a graduate of Central Ohio Technical College, according to The Advocate's archives.

David had worked at the sheriff's office since August 2006. Thorp said he was a good police officer who did his job and never had any significant issues.

Law enforcement struggles with deputy's death

He had worked in the Licking County Justice Center for about eight years and had worked in the patrol division on the midnight shift for about two years. David was assigned to the patrol division at the time of his death, Thorp said.

The Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to the scene and will conduct the investigation, Thorp said. BCI was called, in part, for transparency in the investigation and to help with the emotional toll of the case on the deputies and detectives involved, he said.

No new details on the couple's deaths or the status of the investigation were released by BCI Friday. The Licking County Coroner's Office said autopsies had not yet been completed as of Friday afternoon.

In a release, Thorp said he was reporting the identities of the victims with a "heavy heart" and asked the community to keep the families of both David and Elizabeth in their thoughts, as well as their extended professional families as they deal with their deaths.