HELMSBURG — A Brown County man was killed, and his wife suffered serious gunshot wounds after two assailants invaded their home, state police said.

The attack happened between midnight Friday and 5 a.m. Saturday at the residence of Richard W. and Mary I. Voland of 8406 Lick Creek Road near Helmsburg in northwestern Brown County.

Richard Voland, 84, died Sunday night at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Mary Voland, 77, was in fair condition.

Police said they have not determined why the suspects entered the home.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Curt Durnil said the house contained valuable items most homeowners would own, but the attackers did not ransack the house.

Police are searching for two suspects based on victim descriptions.

After the shootings, Mary Voland drove about a quarter mile to her brother’s house to call 911, said Voland’s sister-in-law, Elaine Richards.

“It’s pitiful that people are that mean,” Richards said about the attack.

Richards said the Volands had been married “all their (adult) lives.”

They built their Lick Creek Road house on land Mary Voland’s parents once owned and have lived there for about 60 years, Richards said.

Richard Voland is retired from Eli Lilly, where he worked at least part of the time as a plumber.

Mary Voland “baked a lot for people” and had worked in a bank, Richards said.

Suspect descriptions

Police are searching for two “clean shaven” white teenagers as suspects in the home invasion:

Older suspect: Age 18 to 20, dark hair with olive or dark complexion. He also has a wound on one arm.

Younger suspect: Age 14 to 16, light complexion and sandy blond or light-red hair.

To provide information: Indiana State Police Bloomington Post, 800-423-1286 or Brown County Sheriff’s Department, 988-6655.

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