Elderly husband believed to have shot wife before ending own life

An 86-year-old woman and her 89-year-old husband were found dead Saturday night in their Half Moon Bay home in what San Mateo County Sheriff’s investigators believe is a homicide-suicide.

At about 8:51 p.m. Saturday, San Mateo County dispatch received a 911 call from a home on Terrance Avenue in Half Moon Bay about a possible shooting. Det. Rosemerry Blankswade said the call is believed to have come from the husband.

Deputies arrived there to find the elderly man and woman – who lived in the house – with recent gunshot wounds. A handgun was found nearby and taken as evidence. Blankswade said investigators found “documents strategically placed in the house” that suggest the deaths are a homicide-suicide.

Detectives are investigating the case, Blankswade said, and will work to determine whether one or both of the victims had health issues that may have prompted these actions.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office anonymous tip line at (800) 547-2700.