NORTHBOROUGH — A husband and wife are dead after an apparent murder-suicide late Tuesday on Pond View Way.

Thomas M. Blasko shot Debra Blasko then turned the gun on himself, according to the office of District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

Thomas Blasko, 57, was pronounced dead at the home; his wife, also 57, died at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to the district attorney.

Officers arrived on the scene - the house at 18 Pond View Way - about 10 p.m. Tuesday. It had been reported that the Blaskos were involved in a domestic dispute. Pond View Way is off Solomon Pond Road.

The house has been a state-licensed child care facility under Debra Blasko since 2001, according to the state office of the Department of Early Education and Care.

On Wednesday evening, small children played at the short dead-end overlooking Solomon Pond as neighbors tried to make sense of what happened.

Wendy Collins, of 10 Pond View Way, lives diagonally across from the Blaskos in the older neighborhood almost hidden behind a newer townhouse development closer to the main road.

She said the couple has older children who have moved out, but said their two youngest, twin teenage boys, live there and were at home Tuesday night.

“Those poor kids,” Collins said. “I can’t imagine where their mind goes. How do you get through that?”

She said the boys were always outside; they were just playing basketball Tuesday evening, she said. She said she didn’t know the Blaskos that well beyond saying hello.

Carly Johnson lives just a few houses down from the Blaskos, and has known the family for her entire life. “The kids are super sweet,” she said.

She said the couple were very nice neighbors. She said Thomas Blasko would plow the small lane in the winter and the couple would often stop to say hello and talk.

Johnson said she never noticed any problems between the Blaskos. She said she didn’t hear anything Tuesday night, but said her brother did and ran over to grab the children in the aftermath of the shooting. Police arrived quickly, she said.

When Debra Blasko was taken away in an ambulance it gave neighbors hope she would survive. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

In 2009, the Blaskos were involved in an effort to stop a proposed National Grid monopole telecommunications tower near their home. A MetroWest Daily News story at the time reported that the couple tried to stop construction of a proposed 125-foot cell tower. The Blaskos feared the effect that the tower might have on the health of one of their children who had leukemia. They were also concerned about the property value of their home on Pond View Way.

The same article indicated the couple had five children.

Northboro police blocking Pond View Drive, say they can’t comment on invest. at this time.pic.twitter.com/rZMqsV5PRC

— Steven H. Foskett Jr (@SteveFoskettTG)April 24, 2019