SALTSBURG - An elderly woman, her sister and her niece were found shot to death inside an auto glass business and a handgun similar to one owned by a relative was found nearby, police said.

Police asked a judge for permission to get a DNA sample from the relative, but state police Trooper Jeanne Martin wouldn't say if he is in custody or if he is a suspect.

The bodies were found at about 6 p.m. Thursday in Ferguson Glass Services in a remote area near Saltsburg. The dead women were identified as Edith Cora Tietge, 81; her sister Doris Lynn Murphy, 69; and Murphy's daughter, Kris Lynn Murphy, 43. The women lived in Saltsburg.

The women appeared to have been shot in the head and a .22-caliber handgun that police believe is the murder weapon was found near the shop's rear door, investigators said in an affidavit accompanying their request to get Kevin Murphy's DNA sample.

An employee told police that Kevin Murphy the shop's 48-year-old owner had brought a .22-caliber handgun to the shop earlier this week, investigators said in the affidavit. Murphy told police he hid the gun in the shop, the affidavit said.