Once a week last summer on a pasture in southeastern Wisconsin, Ryan Dutter could be seen walking alongside a horse with his 12-year-old son Kyle, who sat atop the horse holding the reins.

The father and son were regulars for more than two years at the Darien horse farm, where a nonprofit organization called SMILES offers therapeutic riding lessons for people with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.

Jean Firn, the director of instruction, remembers Dutter as a patient and supportive dad. "We saw no conflict," said Firn, adding that news of the family's tragedy has come as a great shock.

On Tuesday, an anonymous 911 caller directed Madison police to a sport-utility vehicle parked in front of Haen Family Park on the city's Far West Side. Inside, police say they found Dutter and his son with gunshot wounds.

Kyle, who had a developmental disability, died that day. His father died Wednesday. Authorities say Dutter, 36, recently of Middleton, shot his son, then himself.

Police have released no information about a possible motive — officers involved in the case are scheduled to meet this morning, said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. Officers were not able to interview Dutter before he died, he said.

The death of the father means there is no longer a potential criminal case, raising questions as to how much more information police will release to the public.

Members of Dutter's family have not responded to requests for comment. For now, only threads of a life that seemed to be becoming increasingly difficult are known.

Dutter filed for bankruptcy last fall, citing liabilities of $109,002 and obligations that included a monthly child support payment and $18,700 in student loans. At the time of his bankruptcy filing, his recent income had included about $6,700 in state unemployment compensation. He had been taken to small claims court several times in the last three years by various plaintiffs, according to online court records.

Despite the financial stress, Dutter devoted much time to Kyle. In August, he created a public Web site in which he updated family and friends on his son. The site says it is the place to go for "all Kyle, all the time."

"This is Kyle's very own Web site for those who want to see Kyle grow in life," the site says.

Much of the site reflects Kyle's love of Halloween — he had recently visited a pumpkin patch, and pictures abound of his trip to Fright Fest, an annual event at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill.

The Web site is candid about Kyle's numerous medical issues, listing 10 medical professionals he was seeing at the time of his death, including a neurologist, an orthopedist and a pediatrician specializing in autism.

Kyle was in the sixth grade at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, where school administrators offered counseling Wednesday for students and staff. Middleton-Cross Plains Schools Superintendent Don Johnson said this was Kyle's first year in the school district. He attended school in the Beloit area last year.

Ryan Dutter was divorced from the boy's mother and shared parenting responsibilities. Dutter and his son had moved to Middleton only in the last few months.

Dutter's parents reside in Beloit in a brick, ranch-style house where they raised five boys. Henry Dutter is a semi-retired Beloit firefighter. Rosemary Dutter is a retired schoolteacher who sells real estate.

For neighbors, news of the tragedy has been baffling.

"(Ryan Dutter) didn't give us any sign that he was an unfit parent," said Tom Brandenburg, who lives across the street from the Dutters.

Kyle would play basketball with Brandenburg's son, Bailey, in their driveway. One Christmas, Ryan Dutter dressed up as Santa Claus and brought Bailey a present as a token of thanks for playing with Kyle, said Brandenburg's wife, Karen.

Rosemary Dutter is known around the neighborhood for circulating petitions to stop a condo development and for accompanying Kyle on walks. Dr. Kanchana Biswanathan, who has lived next door to the Dutters for 15 years, said she had seen Kyle and his father this past summer and nothing seemed out of place.

She said she had noticed that Rosemary Dutter had taken care of Kyle quite often. She considers the Dutters wonderful neighbors and dedicated grandparents.

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"After taking care of their own children and then taking care of a grandchild with special needs — that was a lot," Biswanathan said.

Growing up, Ryan Dutter attended Beloit Turner High School before leaving after his junior year in 1989 to join the U.S. Navy, according to Turner Registrar Roseann Hoffmann. He earned his high school degree in the Navy and served overseas, she said.

At various times he had worked for a mortgage firm and as a branch manager for a bank in Milwaukee. Last year, he was a substitute teacher's assistant in the Beloit School District, according to spokeswoman Melissa Badger. It is unclear whether he was employed at the time of his death.

In addition to Kyle, Dutter has an 18-year-old daughter who attends Utah State University in Logan.

Last spring, in a newsletter for McLenegan Elementary School in Beloit, school officials thanked Ryan Dutter and his mother for helping to provide transportation for students to SMILES (Special Methods in Learning Equine Skills), the horse farm for people with disabilities, Firn, the farm's director of instruction, said Kyle was a determined student who loved horses.

"He was just a good kid trying real hard, and they were just a good family trying real hard to give him every opportunity they could," she said.

State Journal reporter Sandy Cullen contributed to this report.