KNOX CO., Tenn. (WVLT) -- Authorities are calling the deaths of an elderly couple in east Knox Co. an apparent murder suicide.

According to the Knox Co. Sheriff's Office, seventy year-old William Smith stabbed his wife, Lois, while she slept shortly after six o'clock Wednesday night. He then stabbed himself in the chest.

The couple was found in their Thorngrove Pike home.

In July 2006, police responded to the Smith's home following reports by Mrs. Smith that her husband was bleeding with a knife in his chest. In 2009, William Smith was rushed to the hospital after an icepick pierced his chest.