An elderly married couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Washington State this week left several notes saying they could not afford medical bills that had been piling up for them in recent months, authorities said.

The husband Brian Jones called police in Whatcom County soon after 8 a.m. on Wednesday and said, “I am going to shoot myself,” the local sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

“We will be in the front bedroom,” the 77-year-old Jones said before hanging up the phone, authorities said.

Police responded to the house and used a crisis negotiator to try to reach the couple, police said. After about an hour, they sent in a robot with a camera attached to it, which found both the man and his 76-year-old wife, Patricia Whitney-Jones, lifeless with gunshot wounds to their bodies, cops said.

Police then entered the house and found several notes detailing Patricia Whitney-Jones’ ongoing medical problems and the couple’s inability to pay her bills.

“It is very tragic that one of our senior citizens would find himself in such desperate circumstances where he felt murder and suicide were the only option. Help is always available with a call to 9-1-1,” Sheriff Bill Elfo said in a statement after the incident.

Two unharmed dogs were also found in the house and were turned over to the Humane Society, cops said.