Murders confirmed

Wayne and Zayne Burroughs were murdered.

“It was a homicide,” Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur said Wednesday.

Authorities had been awaiting the results of autopsies on the badly decomposed bodies of the two men, which were discovered Oct. 9 at a rental property at 328 N. 700 East in Noble Township.

“There were gunshot wounds to both of them,” said Schemenaur, declining to provide additional details about the shooting.

The 69-year-old twins had not been seen for a number of weeks before their bodies were discovered by their landlord in the living room of the brick-and-frame farmhouse. The bodies were badly decomposed, but wallets and identification papers for the Burroughs brothers were found at the scene.

Jay County Sheriff’s Office said at that time that the case was “suspicious in nature.”

“The sheriff’s department has been talking to anyone who knew them,” Schemenaur said. “Unfortunately these guys pretty much kept to themselves … They were pretty much creatures of habit.”

The prosecutor said there are no leads “at this time.”

“This one’s going to take some time to piece together,” he said.

Asked if the slayings were related to a theft of some sort, Schemenaur responded, “We don’t know that yet. … We’re investigating all aspects of this.”

The Burroughs brothers usually ate lunch at Pit’s Cocktail Lounge in Portland and dinner at Brick Street Tavern in Fort Recovery and were known to frequent the VFW Post in Fort Recovery on Sundays.

“We’re going to continue to follow up,” said Schemenaur. “I know the sheriff’s department has spoken to a number of folks.”

Indiana State Police has also assisted with the investigation.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Jay County Sheriff’s Office at (260) 726-8188.