Wife Slain by Husband in Hospital’s Garage

A Long Beach hospital technician was shot to death Thursday by her estranged husband, who was in critical condition after turning the gun on himself, police said.

The apparent murder/suicide attempt took place in the physician’s parking structure of the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center where the victim, Betty Macedo, 52, had worked for nine months as a cardiovascular technologist, said hospital spokesman Ron Yukelson.

Richard Macedo, 49, apparently entered his wife’s car as she was arriving for work, said Long Beach Police Detective Dennis Robbins. The couple talked for about an hour and a half, “then the victim started screaming and tried to get out of the car,” Robbins said.

The victim told hospital administrators three months ago that she feared for her safety, and she requested special permission to use the gated parking structure where the shooting occured, said a hospital supervisor who asked not to be identified.

Richard Macedo was taken to the emergency room at the medical center, where he was in critical condition with a head wound inflicted by a small-caliber automatic handgun, Robbins said. Betty Macedo was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbors in East Long Beach, where the couple had lived until August, said there had been a series of loud arguments that preceded the Macedo’s break-up.