Editor Fatally Shot Wife, Himself, Deputies Confirm
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WEST COVINA — Detectives said Friday that the husband and wife found fatally shot inside their West Covina area home Wednesday night were victims of a murder-suicide.
Carlos Alejandro Balotta, 45, a La Opinion newspaper editor, shot his wife of 18 years, Maria Hildebrandt Balotta, 35, after a quarrel shortly after 10:30 p.m., deputies confirmed.
The couple’s 14-year-old son Tito apparently struggled with his father over the gun. The father shot himself during the struggle, and the boy was injured.
Tito Balotta was being treated at Citrus Valley Medical Center but information on his condition was not released.
The Balottas, who lived in the 300 block of Addleman Avenue in South San Jose Hills, had recently separated. They had three children.
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