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Officials: Bayonet Point Shooting Was Murder-Suicide Try

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

  Steven Kane

BAYONET POINT - Pasco sheriff's detectives say the wounds suffered by a man and woman found in the woods Thursday are the result of an attempted murder-suicide gone bad.

Authorities say Steven E. Kane, 56, shot Cathy Chorba, 46, then turned the gun on himself in woods near 31211 Secret Lane

"We believe that he drove out there, shot her, made a [911] phone call and then shot himself after the phone call," sheriff's office spokesman Doug Tobin said.

Deputies were on the scene within five minutes of the 3:21 p.m. phone call. A man, now thought to be Kane, called about a possible suicide. In the woods, deputies found Kane and Chorba seriously injured by gunshot wounds to the upper body.

A 1989 Buick Century was parked in the grass about 10 feet west of Secret Lane. Detectives won't say whether the couple was inside the car.

The couple, who live at 16003 Villa Drive in Viva Villas, was flown by medical helicopter.

Today, it wasn't clear which hospital Kane was taken to, but Chorba was at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg in critical condition.

"She's gravely injured, and they're both potentially life-threatening injuries," Tobin said.

Kane has a long history of criminal convictions, including several for drugs.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

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