MARTINSVILLE, Va. – A man is dead after authorities say he hit a woman in the head with a gun and choked her before he apparently took his own life.

Henry County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 3288 Green Hill Dr. around 10 a.m. 28-year-old Ashley Lynn Justus reported that her mother’s boyfriend had been at the home and assaulted her.

43-year-old Michael T. Purdue of 966 Dyers Store Rd. left the house after threatening to commit suicide but returned several minutes later.

He left a second time and returned to his home, where police found his car. More than a dozen law enforcement vehicles blocked off both ends of Dyer Store Road and traffic was diverted from the area as officers wrapped yellow crime scene tape around the perimeter and tried to contact Purdue. They were unsuccessful and entered the home about 3 p.m. Saturday, where they found Purdue dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The body will be taken to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.