Death of Couple in Valley Center Believed to Be Murder-Suicide

The bodies of a Valley Center man and a Bonsall woman who authorities said were in the midst of a divorce were found Sunday in the man’s home after an apparent murder-suicide, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.

Francis Richmond, 57, a contractor, and Carolyn Richmond, 41, were found in a bathroom in the home, in the 15000 block of Glentree Road, deputy coroner Robert Engel said.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the woman had been shot several times in the head and abdomen, while the man had a wound to the upper body.

Lt. Bill Baxter of the homicide unit said friends of the couple told authorities that Carolyn Richmond was visiting her husband to discuss a divorce between the two.

He said Carolyn Richmond lived in the 31000 block of Del Cielo Este in Bonsall.

Friends who came to visit at 6:20 p.m. Sunday were let in by a housekeeper and found the bodies in a bathroom in the rear of the home, Baxter said. The housekeeper was not in the home during the shooting.

Baxter said a .357-caliber handgun was used.