By LYNNE TUOHY

Associated Press

NASHUA, N.H. — A Manchester couple was strangled five days before firefighters found their bodies in their burning home, according to recently filed court documents.

The death certificates filed in Hillsborough County Probate Court show that Robert Dion, 71, and Constance Dion, 67, were strangled with a wire on March 19. The medical examiner’s report says they died within minutes.

Police are still looking for their son, 38-year-old Matthew Dion, who vanished after the March 24 fire. Dion is wanted on three counts of possession of child pornography, and Manchester police also want to question him about his parents’ deaths.

Authorities say Dion was driving a white 2009 Nissan Altima with a New Hampshire license plate 341-0587.

One of Robert Dion’s nephews, Roger Mitchell Jr., is serving as temporary administrator of the couple’s estate.

Mitchell noted in a recent report to the court that Matthew Dion is being sought by the attorney general’s office and that his “right to inherit any proceeds of his parents’ estate may be nullified.”

The only other heirs, Mitchell wrote, are a 2-year-old grandchild, Mitchell and his brother, Michael.

The estate may receive $20,000-$40,000 in insurance proceeds for damage to the contents of the house, according to Mitchell. The home itself, which was destroyed by the fire and explosion, is assessed at $215,000 but carried a mortgage of $178,000. The couple also had a mutual fund worth about $24,000.

Tips about Matthew Dion’s whereabouts can be reported to the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force at 603-225-1632 or by calling 1-877-WANTED-2.