"Love Story" Ends In Murder/Suicide

"SHAFTER, CA — Circumstances surrounding the murder-suicide of an elderly couple in Shafter reveal a touching love story.

"`Johnie and Claudine are perhaps one of the most loving couples I have ever met in my life,` said their church pastor Mike Polley.

"Whether out at events or at home, Johnie and Claudine Saulsbury were always side by side, unable to go without at least slightly touching each other.

"Neighbors and the couple's pastor say every afternoon they would walk hand in hand around the neighborhood.

"`They told me it was because they had to hold each other up and I saw the look in their eyes and they just needed to be together. They loved each other desperately,` said Polley.

"So desperately that Johnnie said he wanted them to die together.

"And they did.

"Thursday morning, a relative went to check on Johnie and Claudine at their home in Shafter and found them dead inside.

"Shafter police say Johnie had stabbed Claudine to death and then hanged himself in the garage."

From turnto23.com...