AMERICAN FORK, Utah, Jan. 5, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have identified the two people found dead Wednesday inside an American Fork home as an elderly husband and wife.
Duane and Sally Francom, both 84, were found dead inside their home at 179 N. Center St. by officers conducting a welfare check on the couple, American Fork police said.
Police had been notified by neighbors that the couple hadn’t been seen in awhile, police said. The couple’s bodies had entered intermediate to advanced stages of decomposition when found by police.
Police say the homeowners’ deaths are suspicious, but it is not believed anyone else was involved.
“The department would like to reassure the community that it does not believe there is any foul play by anyone outside the home,” American Fork police said in a news release Friday. “Additionally, there were no signs of forced entry to the home. Investigators believe all circumstances surrounding the death of Sally and Duane Francom were isolated to the inside of the home at the time of their respective deaths.”
Officers observed a chair on its side and items that had been knocked off a table in the room where Sally Francom’s body was found. Duane Francom’s body was found in a different room, according to police.
No weapons were located in the home, and the cause of death has not been determined, police said.
A preliminary examination by the state Office of the Medical Examiner did not reveal any traumatic injury to either person. The medical examiner’s investigation is expected to take several weeks and possibly months, police said.
Anyone with information about Sally and Duane Francom that may be pertinent to the investigation is asked to contact the American Fork Police Department at 801-763-3020 or Central 911 Dispatch at 801-794-3970.
