( CNN ) -- Police in Omaha , Nebraska , said Friday they are checking into whether two cases of double homicide -- separated by six miles and five years -- may be linked . All four victims had ties to the pathology department at Creighton University Medical School . The comparisons arose Tuesday , when Roger and Mary Brumback , both 65 , were found dead inside their Omaha home . Roger Brumback was a professor in the pathology and neurology departments at Creighton University . After 12 years at Creighton , where he had served as chairman of the Department of Pathology , Brumback had recently announced he would retire next month and move to West Virginia . When a piano mover arrived Tuesday at the house , he found an ammunition clip wedged in the doorway and Mary Brumback 's body inside , police said . On March 13 , 2008 , 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and his family 's housekeeper , Shirlee Sherman , were found dead in the Hunters ' home in Omaha , according to the FBI . The boy 's father , Dr. William Hunter , was then and is still faculty member in Creighton 's 12-person pathology department . He did not immediately return a call from CNN , but he told the Omaha World-Herald that he wondered if the same person could have been responsible . `` It 's just a thought that comes by , '' he told the newspaper . His wife , Dr. Claire Hunter , an associate professor in Creighton 's cardiology division , also did not immediately return a call . A cold-case unit is assisting to determine whether there is a connection between the cases , police said . Brumback 's colleagues `` described him as a perfectionist who was very popular with his students and other faculty , '' the school said on its website . `` When I heard the news last night , I was literally shaken , '' Laura Neece-Baltaro , a friend of the Brumback family , told CNN affiliate KETV . She met them when they all lived in Oklahoma in the 1990s . `` Why would anyone want to harm them ? They did so much for the community here , and the community in Oklahoma City and they were still contributing . They still had a lot to give back , '' she said . `` It 's a terrible loss to the whole world that they 're no longer with us . '' A prayer service was held Thursday at the school for the couple . Students wore white coats in tribute . `` It 's just kind of shocking to have somebody that seemed so full of life and invincible taken so suddenly , '' said Creighton medical student Justin McCarthy , KETV reported . CNN 's Kyung Lah contributed to this report .
The Brumbacks were found dead Tuesday in their Omaha home . Roger Brumback was a professor in Creighton 's pathology department . Another Creighton pathologist 's son , housekeeper were killed in 2008 .