Update: St. Anselm Parishioner Charged in Killing of His Wife

Updated 3:34 p.m. Wednesday following afternoon news conference

The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wednesday charged William Lynn Gunter, 59, with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Suzanne. He's being held without bond.

According to the St. Louis County Police department, which is now handling the investigation, Town and Country Police responded to the scene at 1515 Mason Hill Court Monday to an "accidental injury" call and found Suzanne Gunter lying in the foyer of the home near the front door.

At a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Lt. Tom Larkin from the County Police said a neighbor called 911. Larkin said a forensic pathologist "almost immediately" determined that the cause of the injury was not how it had been presented to Town and Country Police, leading the case to be classified as a homicide.

Authorities allege Gunter struck his wife in the head with some sort of instrument available in the home. It is unclear if the authorities know what the instrument was or if it had been recovered.

Lt. Larkin said as they know it today, they are not able to find any history of violence in the family. He added that the couple's two daughter were not home at the time of the incident.

A neighbor told Patch.com that residents in the Mason Hill Court community where the Gunters lived said all the neighbors in the area had collectively decided not to discuss anything about the couple with the media.

Suzanne Gunter was 55 years old. She served as a member of the city of Town and Country's Community Relations Commission. According to his LinkedIn profile, William Gunter is a Vice President of AHM Financial Group, which is located just outside Westport Plaza near Maryland Heights.

Suzanne Gunter's obituary at Legacy.com indicates she was an active volunteer in the Parkway School Distict. A district spokeswoman couldn't immediately identify where she volunteered, but said the couple's youngest daughter graduated from Parkway West High School in 2010.

Arrangements for Suzanne Gunter are being handled by Ortmann-Stipanovich Funeral Home in Creve Coeur, where visitation is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m Thursday. A funeral mass scheduled for Friday at St. Anselm Parish, where both were parishioners, at 1:30 p.m.

Patch Editors Frank Johnson and Joe Scott contributed information for this report