Police Officer, Girlfriend Found Dead

A police officer and his longtime girlfriend were found dead in their Woodside, Queens, co-op yesterday morning of gunshot wounds to their heads. The revolver that killed them lay inches from their bodies.

Officers made the discovery after Finbarr Mahon, 38, a 13-year veteran of the police force who worked as a training instructor at the police department's firing range in Rodman's Neck, failed to show up for his 7 a.m. shift, police said. When a squad car sent to check on the missing officer arrived at his home, they came upon the aftermath of an apparent murder-suicide. Police discovered the bodies of Mahon and Aurelia Morales, 52, in the bedroom of the co-op they shared for more than 10 years.

Police confirmed that the .38 caliber revolver found close to Mahon's body was the murder weapon, though they could not say if the gun was Mahon's service revolver. The apartment showed no signs of forced entry, according to police.

Neighbors in the quiet building where Mahon had grown up were shocked to hear of what had happened to the couple, who were frequently seen walking their dog, Alex, in nearby Doughboy Park.

"They would hold hands when they were going to work," Mary Mahon, 80, a neighbor who has lived in the building for 30 years, said. She is not related to the victim.

Mahon's mother, Mary, who also lives in the building, declined to speak with reporters, but others who know her described her shock.

"She didn't go to the apartment because she was afraid she was going to have a heart attack," the superintendent of the building, Sam Neljkovic, said.

"We were all shocked this morning. They seemed to be a very happy couple."