Argument Over Finances Leads To Double Murder/Suicide

"CATHEDRAL CITY, CA — Investigators on scene of a double murder-suicide in Cathedral City left neighbors on Northhampton Avenue on edge Wednesday.

"Police discovered a handgun beside the shooter in the home and a written letter confessing to the killings.

"`The mother and daughter were both shot and killed in bed by the male, who then at some point turned the gun on himself and committed suicide,` said Lt. Chuck Robinson, of the Cathedral City Police Department.

"Police say the man found dead in another bedroom in the house, which he shared with the elder woman, was the mother's common-law husband. He reportedly shot the woman in the head, killed her middle-aged daughter and then shot himself.

"Authorities first got the call from the mother's adult son around 11:20 a.m. The son reportedly was checking on his family at the home on Wednesday morning, worried when he couldn't get a hold of them.

"`It appeared everybody was asleep in bed. So he didn't wake anybody up, he basically left, then he came back later in the morning to make contact and that's when he found them in their condition,` said Robinson.

"Family members tell police the daughter, from Florida, was visiting her sick mother who had only months left to live. They say her illness stirred up a fight over her finances.

"`Apparently there was some kind of a dispute over end-of-life financial arrangements. We unfortunately think it led to this tragic incident,` said Robinson."

From KESQ.com...