State police were investigating an apparent murder-suicide Thursday in Carroll County, after the suspect in the early-morning slaying of a 48-year-old man was found dead in the same neighborhood shortly after.

Police responding to a report of gunshots about 12:15 a.m. in the 1500 block of Pilgrim Lane in Finksburg found Steven W. Focht's body lying in the driveway of his home with gunshot wounds. One of the cars in the driveway, police determined, belonged to Gregory Alan Martin, 51. Police found Martin's body in a backyard in the 2400 block of Shawnee Drive, around the corner from where Focht's body was found.

Police said Martin used to live at the Shawnee Drive house, and his estranged wife still lives there. Court records indicate that Martin's wife had filed a protective order against him in June and had also filed for divorce in August.

According to a preliminary investigation, police said, it appears that Focht arrived home from work shortly after midnight, when Martin confronted him in his driveway. Police suspect that Martin shot Focht several times in the upper torso, ran to his estranged wife's house and killed himself with a .357-caliber handgun, which police found next to Martin's body.

In November 2008, according to court records, Martin was charged with assaulting Focht. A week later, Focht was charged with assaulting Martin. Police said they had responded to the neighborhood for disputes in 2007 and 2008, but those incidents never led to prosecutions.

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