The deaths of an elderly couple who were fatally shot over the Memorial Day weekend at a home near Padre Dam Park have been ruled a murder-suicide, authorities reported Tuesday.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that deputies responding to a call in the 300 block of Lantern Crest Way in the Santee area at around 11:30 a.m. Sunday found the bodies of David Soulner, 82, and his wife Claire, 79.

Investigators concluded that David Soulner shot his spouse before turning the gun on himself, sheriff’s Lt. Michael Krugh said.

“The circumstances and motivation for this crime are still under investigation,” Krugh said Tuesday.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330 or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this report.

A woman who was found dead alongside her husband in a vehicle parked in Campo was strangled by her spouse, who then fatally shot himself, police said Thursday.

The pair, both of San Ysidro, were identified as a married couple living separately, according to Lt. Stephen Shebloski of the San Diego Police Department.

Shebloski said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol contacted SDPD after finding the bodies of a man and a woman in a vehicle Tuesday in the Golden Acorn Casino parking lot, 1800 Golden Acorn Way.

They were later identified as Johnny Soto, 52, and his estranged wife, Melissa Soto, 45. The two were reported missing by family members last week, the lieutenant said.

Detectives from SDPD Southern Division and the Homicide Unit have been investigating the case since the man and woman went missing.

Detectives learned the couple were married, but living separately and there was likely a domestic violence incident before they were reported missing, Shebloski said.

“When the male and female were found by officers, the male was deceased from what is believed to be a self-inflicted single gunshot wound to the head,” Shebloski said. “The preliminary investigation indicates that his death was a suicide. It has been determined the female died from strangulation. Her death has confirmed to be a homicide with her husband as the lone suspect in what appears to be a tragic case of domestic violence.”

Anyone with information regarding the case was asked to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-80-8477.

– City News Service

Updated 6:20 p.m. Dec. 28, 2023

 Police Wednesday were investigating an apparent murder- suicide involving a man and woman found dead in a vehicle in the parking lot of Golden Acorn Casino.

Homicide detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Southern Division responded about 12:25 p.m. Tuesday to a call from officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reporting they had located a vehicle connected to a man and woman reported missing by family members in San Ysidro last week, police said.

The vehicle was found in the casino parking lot at 1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo in rural East San Diego County.

“The initial investigation indicated the man and woman were missing under suspicious circumstances,” said SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski.

“Detectives have since learned the deceased man and woman were a married couple living separately, and that there was likely a domestic violence incident prior to them being reported missing. When the couple were found by officers, the man was deceased from what was believed to be a self-inflicted single gunshot wound to the head. The preliminary investigation indicates his death was a suicide.”

Shebloski said the woman’s injuries were undetermined awaiting confirmation from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Her death is being investigated as a homicide with her husband as the lone suspect in what appears to be a case of domestic violence,” said Shebloski.

The suspect was described by Shebloski as a 52-year-old man and the victim as a 45-year-old woman.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call the police homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

–City News Service

San Diego police detectives were investigating the deaths of a couple in their 80s who died in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

Officers responded to a suicide call at a residence in the 3400 block of Lowell Street near Roseville/Fleet Ridge around 7:30 p.m. Monday, according to the San Diego Police Department.

At the residence, police found an 86-year-old man and an 83-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced the couple dead at the scene. Their names were not released.

During the investigation, detectives learned that the two were husband and wife. It is also believed that the man shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself.

–City News Service