Montgomery County, PA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 29, 2009

 

 

 

         

 

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and Upper Gwynedd Township Police Chief David Duffy report the following details related to the June 26, 2009 double shooting in Upper Gwynedd Township:

 

On Friday, June 26, 2009 at 6:43 PM, Upper Gwynedd Township Police responded to a report of a shooting at 791 Collins Avenue, Lansdale section of Upper Gwynedd.  The caller, a resident of 791 Collins Avenue, reported that two people were shot inside a vehicle.  The caller identified the victims as Cathy Cressman, age 57 and her husband; Joseph Cressman age 60, both residents of that address. 

 

Police found the couple seated inside Mr. Cressman’s Toyota Tundra pick-up truck parked in the driveway.  Both were bleeding from gun shot wounds to the head.  A family member found a handgun in Cathy Cressman’s lap when she was discovered. 

 

Joseph Cressman was taken to Lansdale Hospital (AMH – Lansdale) where he died a short time later.  Cathy Cressman was taken to Abington Memorial Hospital where she underwent surgery to remove a bullet from her head.  She is listed in critical condition.  

 

Detectives from the Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau commenced a joint investigation into this apparent murder.

 

Police learned that Joseph and Cathy Cressman have been married for 37 years and recently became estranged. Mr. Cressman’s departure from the family home caused emotional difficulties for Mrs. Cressman which required treatment. Mrs. Cressman had recently stated that if she could not have her husband, she would take a gun and shoot him.

 

On June 26, 2009, Cathy Cressman purchased a Rossi Interarms .38 revolver.  Through the investigation, police learned that Mrs. Cressman met her husband for dinner later that date. As the pair sat in the car outside of the family home, Mrs. Cressman shot her estranged husband and then turned her gun on herself.

 

On Saturday, June 27, 2009 an autopsy was completed on the body of Joseph Cressman by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.  Dr. Ericka Williams, a forensic pathologist, ruled the cause of death to be gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death to be Homicide. Mrs. Cressman remains in critical condition at a local hospital.

 

 The investigation is continuing.

 

      Approved for release:

 

      Risa Vetri Ferman
      Chief David Duffy