A Pioneer City man killed himself and his wife Tuesday, according to Anne Arundel County police who found the bodies of the couple yesterday in the upstairs bedroom of their townhouse.

Police went to the home in the 8200 block of Deerfield Circle after workers at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda reported that Reather Hulane Tyler, 44, had not been at work since Monday and had not called in. Police found her body and that of David Alonzo Tyler, 45.

After a rental agent let police into the home, they called the homicide squad about 12: 15 p.m. Police said there were no gunshot or stab wounds on the bodies, but they declined to give a cause of death. The state medical examiner's office is to announce the official cause today.

Neighbors describe the couple as quiet and religious.

David Tyler was a deacon at the Cherry Hills United Methodist Church in Baltimore. The couple often spoke about God and encouraged their neighbors to attend church.

Reather Tyler was regarded as dedicated and reliable by co-workers. "I could have set my alarm clock by her leaving for work at exactly 7: 30 p.m. and returning home the next morning at 9 a.m," Gasque said. "I knew something had happened when she did not go to work."

Pub Date: 6/18/99