Murder-Suicide Is Suspected in Death of Woman and Son, 5

Sheriff’s officials are investigating the possible murder-suicide of a young El Centro boy and his mother, found shot to death in the back seat of a car parked along Old Highway 80 in Jacumba, authorities said.

Jennifer Atiles, 27, apparently shot her son, Nelson Jr., believed to be 5 years old, in the chest with a .357 magnum before turning the gun on herself sometime Monday, medical examiner investigator Cal Vine said.

A note found in the car indicated that the shooting may have been prompted by a marital dispute, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Chris Hinshaw said.

A passer-by discovered the bodies about 9:45 p.m. Monday, Hinshaw said. The car was parked alongside Old Highway 80, about 2 miles east of Carrizo Gorge Road.

Atiles lived with her husband, Nelson, and her son in an El Centro apartment in the 400 block of Aurora Drive, Vine said. She was a housewife and originally from Guam.

Maggie Sosa, a neighbor, said she called police several times because of loud arguing coming from the Atiles’ apartment. During one argument, she said, she called because she heard the boy screaming.

“The cops would knock and knock at the door. (Nelson) would answer, but (Jennifer) would already be gone,” Sosa said. “She would get really mad and take off with the little boy. Sometimes at 3 o’clock in the morning, she would just put him in the car and take off.”

Sosa said the couple had lived at the apartment for three years. She said Nelson Atiles was an agent with the Border Patrol, which the agency would not confirm, saying it does not reveal the identity of its agents. Sosa also said the little boy was very friendly and appeared well cared for.