LOCAL : Woman Kills Daughter, 3, Herself as They Ride in Friend’s Camper
A woman who feared that her estranged husband would gain custody of their 3-year-old daughter shot and killed the girl and then herself Wednesday as they rode in a friend’s camper in Panorama City, Los Angeles police said this morning.
Josephina Rios, 29, died about 10:15 p.m., four hours after she fired a single round into the head of her daughter, Samantha, and then shot herself in the head, Sgt. Joe Braza said.
Investigators found a note apparently written by Rios saying she was despondent over the prospect of her husband’s gaining custody of their daughter.
Detective Mike Houchen said Rios apparently feared that her husband, whose name was not released, would disappear with the child. The couple, who lived in Anaheim, had recently separated and were going through a divorce.
“The mother left a suicide note indicating this was best for the child and herself,” he said.
At the time of the shooting, Rios and her daughter were riding in the back of a camper driven by the woman’s friend, Pasquale Buzzelli.
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