Rift Led to Shooting-Suicide at Rancho San Diego Home

Authorities Tuesday identified a Rancho San Diego man who shot and wounded his wife, then killed himself.

Michael Scott Scofield, 37, shot himself in the head after reportedly chasing his naked wife down the street where he lived. He was pronounced dead at the scene in the 2100 block of Greenwick Road, said Chuck Bolton, an investigator for the county medical examiner’s office.

Before turning the gun on himself, Scofield fired at his estranged wife, Debbie Scofield, striking her once in the nose. The bullet exited through the left side of her jaw.

Debbie Scofield, 39, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital and treated for the face wound and another wound on her left thigh, said Cathy Spearnak, a spokeswoman for the hospital. It was not immediately clear if the thigh wound was caused by a bullet fragment or was from a separate bullet.

Spearnak said the woman also appeared to have been beaten before the shooting. She was treated for a wound on the roof of her mouth and fractures of her nose and jaw. Spearnak said she did not know how the mouth and additional facial wounds were inflicted.

Michael Scofield had called his wife to come to his home and pick up her belongings, authorities said. A few minutes after she arrived, they argued, sheriff’s authorities said.

Neighbors heard screams coming from the house, then Debbie Scofield was seen by witnesses, running nude and followed by her husband, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. After a few seconds of running, for some reason she stopped and “turned to him,” the spokesman said.

Michael Scofield fired at her face with a .22-caliber pistol, then immediately turned the gun on himself.