Former couple found dead in Yuba City

Robert Summa, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Updated ·2 min read

Mar. 18—A former couple were found dead early Saturday morning at an apartment complex in Yuba City, officials with the Yuba City Police Department confirmed with the Appeal on Monday.

According to officials, officers from the department responded at about 1:56 a.m. on Saturday to an area of Northgate Drive and East Onstott Road in reference to a report of gunshots that were fired in or around the Northgate Terrace Apartments complex.

Once at the scene, officers "responded to the apartment complex located at 1290 Northgate Drive" where officers found a deceased 34-year-old female and 21-year-old male with "multiple gunshot wounds" in an apartment, the department said.

Along with the two people found inside, a 36-year-old male also was found dead in a nearby vehicle, officials confirmed with the Appeal. While the incident is still under investigation and the "exact nature of what occurred is still under investigation," the department said detectives learned that the 36-year-old male, who was in the vehicle, and the 34-year-old female, found dead inside the apartment, were involved in a "previous dating relationship."

Kim Slade, with the Yuba City Police Department, told the Appeal that detectives are "still working on the status and relation of the 21 year old" who was found in the apartment.

"When the deceased male and female were found by officers, the male was deceased from what is believed to be a self-inflicted single gunshot wound," the department said, in reference to the 36-year-old male and 34-year-old female found dead. "The preliminary investigation indicates that his death was a suicide. The female's injuries are undetermined at this time and will be confirmed later."

Officials said the woman's death is "being investigated as a homicide" in what investigators have said appeared to be a "tragic case of domestic violence." The department stressed that this incident was not a random act of violence and there are no related threats to the public at large.

Detectives from the Yuba City Police Department and the Department of Justice responded to the scene at the complex and are investigating the incident, officials said. As of Monday, the department would not release the names of the victims "pending additional family notifications."