Man Shoots Estranged Wife to Death, Then Self

A man apparently distraught over marital problems fatally shot his estranged wife outside an Acton saloon on Tuesday, then drove to a spot about a mile away where he killed himself with a shotgun, sheriff’s deputies said.

The couple was identified as Carl George Etheredge, 68, of Acton, and Norma Jean Etheredge, 49, of Agua Dulce. They had been separated for about a year. She was shot at least three times. He died of a single blast to the head.

She was the advertising manager at the Vanguard News newspaper, which serves Acton, Agua Dulce and the southern Antelope Valley, a spokeswoman for the paper said. The couple’s son, Vincent C. Etheredge, is the newspaper’s publisher. George Etheredge operated an antique mall in Agua Dulce, acquaintances said.