Details emerge in CP murder-suicide

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) - A 20-year-old woman who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Cedar Park was killed by a shot to the back of her head, police said Monday.

According to a preliminary investigation, Amanda Simmons was apparently shot and killed by her 22-year-old boyfriend, Chris Bowling, on Friday - before Bowling stuck the gun under his own chin and pulled the trigger. Police are calling him a suspect in the case but said the investigation is ongoing.

Police are calling the Friday deaths a "murder-suicide" and said the motive for the shooting is still under investigation. The couple, who were not married but had lived together on and off in the Arboleda Apartment Complex , had a 2-year-old daughter, who police said was not at the apartment at the time of the shooting.

There were no signs of a struggle, police said, and nothing to indicate that it was planned by the couple.

"I would certainly not think it’s something that she [Simmons] wanted,” said Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck.

The baby girl remains in her grandparents' custody in the Lago Vista area.

The couples' MySpace pages - this is Amanda's page , and this is Chris' page - are filled with pictures of their daughter, indications that Bowling had recently gotten a good job, that the two were in school and had plans to marry.

Records show that Simmons was married to someone else at the time of her death. Police said they expect to interview him once he is located.