TREMONT – State officials said Friday that the fatal shooting of a Seal Cove woman by her estranged husband occurred as the couple met to discuss their breakup.

The alleged murder-suicide attempt Thursday left the husband in critical condition at a Bangor hospital.

Irene Placer, 33, died at her home Thursday night from four gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.

Her husband, Forrest Placer, 35, remained in critical condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center on Friday afternoon with a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The shooting took place as the couple met to discuss the breakup of their marriage, McCausland said.

The two had been married for about a year and a half, but had agreed to separate a week ago, McCausland said.

Irene Placer, who worked at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, and her three children had moved in with her mother at a home next door.

“They had agreed to meet at their residence late [Thursday] afternoon to discuss the details of their upcoming divorce,” McCausland said. “He was at their trailer. She went next door” to meet him.

Forrest Placer, a local boatyard worker, had two children, and Irene Placer had three. Several of the children were at their grandmother’s home at the time of the shooting.

“One of the children heard what he thought was a shot,” McCausland said. “He went to the front door and was told by his father that everything was fine. The mother talked to Forrest on the telephone. He said that Irene could not come to the phone and told her to call back in five minutes.”

According to McCausland, Irene Placer’s mother went to the trailer and found a note that said the keys to the trailer were in the car that was parked in the driveway.

“She entered the home and found the two in the master bedroom and called for an ambulance,” he said.

Detectives from the Maine State Police Criminal Investigation Division in Bangor were at the home on Route 102 during the day Friday, searching the trailer for clues as to what might have happened inside the home Thursday night. Investigators found a handgun inside the trailer, according to Sgt. Christopher Coleman.

Coleman said detectives also interviewed friends and relatives of the couple. One detective also followed Forrest Placer to the hospital Thursday night.

Detectives also are checking a paper trail to determine if there had been a history of domestic violence between the two and if there had been prior calls to law enforcement agencies.

“At this point, we have not found any,” he said. “But we will continue to pursue that.”

All five children have been placed with Irene Placer’s mother.