An Afula man is believed to have murdered his wife and then committed suicide, according to local police who found the bodies of the couple in their apartment Monday afternoon.

A local storekeeper called police when he grew suspicious after not seeing the couple for several days, even though their cars were still outside their apartment and the lights and television were on.

The 54-year-old man and his 44-year-old wife immigrated to Israel 15 years ago from Belarus. The couple had no children.

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Rescue personnel broke down the door to the apartment and found the husband's body. His wife's bloody body was found shortly afterwards, underneath the couple's bed.

Both bodies showed signs of violence and physical struggle. The wife had previously made several complaints to police over alleged physical abuse by her husband.

There was no evidence of a suicide note or any other sort of explanation of what happened in the apartment. Police are assuming that the husband killed his wife and then committed suicide.