Five days after police announced that the death of a couple in their Plattekill home was a domestic violence murder-suicide, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said the case remains “open and active.” Police believe James Brugger, 66, a retired Poughkeepsie firefighter, shot his wife Melinda “Mindy” Brugger, 54, to death and initially took steps to conceal his actions before turning the gun on himself.

Police were called to the Brugger residence at 579 Milton Turnpike at 11:42 on Friday, Aug. 21 after a family member of the couple and another person found the pair unconscious and unresponsive in the home. A subsequent investigation by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Forensic Identification Unit, and Major Crimes Unit determined that James Brugger shot Mindy Brugger multiple times, killing her. Police believe James Brugger then tampered with and removed evidence from the home to conceal his actions before taking his own life.

County records show that Mindy Brugger filed for divorce last month and the action was listed as “contested.” A statement by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said that the motive for the murder was “unresolved domestic issues.”

In an effort to determine if police were aware of violence inside the Brugger residence prior to the murder-suicide, Kingston Wire submitted a Freedom of Information Law request to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 25 seeking 911 call logs, incident reports and arrest records connected to 579 Milton Turnpike from the time the couple purchased the home in January 2007 to the present. On Aug. 26, the Sheriff’s office denied the request saying that the records were exempt from Freedom of Information Law because investigation was currently open and active. In an Aug. 24 statement announcing the results of the investigation, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa stated that the agency would not release additional information in the case.

“Out of respect for the family and to protect their privacy, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office will not be providing comment, answering questions, or responding to requests for additional information regarding this investigation,” the statement reads.

On Friday, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger ordered flags at the county building flown at half-staff to honor Mindy Brugger, a longtime emergency services professional and secretary of the Milton Fire Company. At the time of her death, Brugger was Westchester Medical Center’s Systems Director of Safety and Emergency Management. In that capacity she oversaw emergency preparedness and life-saving operations at the healthcare network’s 10 Hudson Valley facilities including HealthAlliance Hospital of the Hudson Valley in Kingston. Brugger was also active in the Plattekill Fire Department and rescue squad where she was a past EMT Captain.

“Her work — and her life — were centered on safeguarding others,” Metzger wrote in a social media post Friday. “We hold Mindy in our hearts and express our deepest condolences to her loved ones and colleagues.”