Residents approached by the Otago Daily Times yesterday said the death of Lesley Ann Johnston (60) on Friday, and the subsequent homicide investigation, had stunned the town.
"This has been a terrible blow for our wee town," former Roxburgh mayor Ella Davidson said.
Mrs Davidson, who was the borough's last mayor, serving from 1970 to 1989, said the mood of the town was sombre.
The people involved were well-respected members of the community.
Roxburgh Community Board chairman Stephen Jeffery said it was "a tragedy for all involved, for Roxburgh, and especially for the family".
The officer in charge of the homicide investigation, Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw, said Mrs Johnston appeared to have been shot at her Smith St home.
Her husband (66) was also found at the home, with gunshot injuries.
He had been taken to Dunedin Hospital and was in a serious condition in the intensive care unit last night.
At this stage, nobody had been charged with any offences relating to Mrs Johnston's death, Det Sgt Shaw said.
It was being treated as a homicide and police were not seeking anyone else in the investigation at this stage.
"I can reasonably assure the general Roxburgh community of their safety. We've probably interviewed 40 people so far about the incident and, as a result, the picture is becoming clearer but we have a considerable number of inquiries to go yet before we have any certainty on what's happened," he said.
Asked if police were considering the possibility of a murder and attempted suicide, Det Sgt Shaw declined to comment.
The scene remained cordoned off and guarded yesterday and the comprehensive search of the site would continue today, he said.
Police staff from Oamaru, Invercargill and Dunedin were working on the case with Central Otago officers and forensic scientists.
Between 15 and 20 staff were involved in the investigation.
The body of Mrs Johnston was removed from outside her home on Saturday afternoon, almost 24 hours after the incident, and taken to Dunedin for a forensic examination.
"Best practice in a homicide investigation means leaving the scene undisturbed until scene experts can view the site. Unfortunately, we live remote from where our scene experts are based and they had to travel from Auckland. We try to be as sensitive as we can, to the feelings of the living, but sometimes we have to make a decision for the longer term good of the investigation and justice," Det Sgt Shaw said.
Police declined to name the injured man "for legal reasons".
