Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould said he has no idea what drove a father to murder his son.

Floyd E. Hunter, 52, shot his 18-year-old son in his bedroom, then called 911 emergency services to tell them what he had done and what he was going to do next, Gould said. Then he walked to his side porch with the rifle and shot himself in the head.

Cayuga County deputies discovered Hunter and his son, Christopher Hunter, dead, both with apparent gunshot wounds to the head, at about 12:40 p.m. Sunday in their home at 2448 Turner Road in the town of Cato.

Floyd lived in his white and blue one-story home down the street from Ray Campbell for more than a decade.

“He was just an average, working class guy. ... He was a good person, it's too bad, it's a tragedy,” Campbell said.

The home contained evidence that Hunter had a physical illness, but the sheriff's office didn't see signs of alcohol or drug abuse, Gould said. His office is investigating into what led to the alleged murder/suicide.

Campbell said Hunter had Huntington's disease, but authorities have not confirmed this.

According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, the inherited disease is a progressive, degenerative condition that destroys certain nerves in the brain and can cause uncontrolled movement, emotional disturbances and mental deterioration.

As far as Campbell knew, Hunter still went to work regularly in Sennett.

Gould won't say if Hunter left a suicide note, but said there was evidence Christopher Hunter's death was a homicide.

“We just left the scene, there's still a lot of work to do,” Gould said during a Sunday afternoon press conference.

Hunter's estranged wife, who lives in Manlius, arrived at the country house that afternoon.

Christopher's mother lives in Waterloo. Campbell said the young man went back and forth between the homes, but stayed with his father for the past three years.

“We're just praying for family and wish them well,” the neighbor said.

Cayuga County 911 received a call from Hunter early afternoon, but in the 17 minutes it took deputies to get to the home, he was dead. Gould added that response time isn't long considering the length of the county.

Gould's experience at the state police taught him it was rare that someone would notify police of their intention to take their own life, but they hang up before police could talk them out of it.

“We don't know why... Certainly, he called for a reason,” Gould said.

If the sheriff's assumptions prove true, Sunday marks Cayuga County's first murder of 2007.

The bodies were removed by 4 p.m. Sunday. The Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office likely will perform the autopsies within the next week, Gould estimated. Toxicology results will take six months to get back.

The Cayuga County Coroner's Office and state police assisted the sheriff's office.

Hunter's is the fifth suicide attempt - the second successful one - his office has handled in the past four days, Gould said.

“I don't know what's going on,” he said.

Police cruisers lined the gravel driveway and roped off the set-back home.

Most neighbors didn't know what happened, and one person said he had never seen police cars in the neighborhood.

“It was the first thing I thought of, that there was trouble at Floyd's,” Campbell said, referring to the procession of police cars.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 267 or jessica.soule@lee.net