Police believe an elderly and ailing East Hampton couple's wish to never be apart resulted in a murder-suicide Tuesday.

According to Chief Todd Sarris, 85-year-old Charles Smith called 911. During the course of that conversation, a gunshot went off. Responding officers said they found Smith and his wife, Beatrice, dead in their Cooper Lane home, each with a single gunshot wound.

Sarris remembers Smith as a good friend who used to manage the East Hampton Airport. "He was a wonderful man, very helpful, very sincere, very honest," Sarris said. "I know he was a bomber pilot in World War II."

One of Smith's former colleagues told News 12 Long Island over the phone that the Smiths loved each other so much that they probably chose to die together.

Officials confirm a note was found at the scene that said the couple's health was failing.