German Writer Dies, Husband Shot in Murder-Suicide Try
West German novelist Alexandra Cordes was shot to death and her writer-husband was gravely wounded in what police said today appeared to be an attempted murder-suicide.
The couple were found Monday at their villa at nearby Chateauneuf-du-Pape by a friend. Police said Cordes, 52, was found lying on the terrace in a pool of blood. She had a bullet wound in her head. Michael Horbach, whose age was not given, was slumped in a chair, his face covered with blood, and he was holding a revolver in his hand. Horbach was in a coma today in Timone Hospital in Marseilles.
The motive for the shootings was not known.
The couple had been married for 28 years. They collaborated on a best-seller titled “The Song of Love and Hate.”
Cordes wrote dozens of popular novels. Among the best known were “The House in Malabrum,” and “There is No Age for Loving.” Horbach has written more than 25 books.
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