San Diego police have identified a couple from San Ysidro who were found dead in a truck in the Golden Acorn Casino parking lot in East County on Tuesday that investigators believe died in a murder-suicide.
Border Patrol agents found a 52-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman in the backseat of the vehicle at the casino off Interstate 8 near Live Oak Springs about 12:25 p.m., San Diego homicide Lt. Steve Shebloski said.
The man had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Police said it was determined the woman died from strangulation.
The man was identified as Johnny Soto. The woman was identified as Melissa Soto.
Detectives had been looking for the married couple since last Thursday when they were reported missing under suspicious circumstances, according to the lieutenant. The two had been separated for several months, but when investigators went to the home where the husband lived and that the two used to share, police found evidence of a physical altercation.
Police suspect the woman was killed during that altercation and then taken to the casino where the husband killed himself, Shebloski said.
