CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : BANNING : Slain Man’s Widow, Lover Found Dead

The widow of a slain insurance executive from Laguna Niguel and her 22-year-old lover were found dead in a motel room here, and authorities are investigating whether the double suicide is linked to the earlier killing. The bodies of Lynn Houston, 44, of Laguna Niguel and Arturo Montes of Santa Ana were discovered by a maid at the Banning Travelodge, Banning Police Sgt. Linda Bianchi said. The bodies were found a day after Montes failed to appear for a scheduled polygraph test at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said Lt. Robert Rivas, a sheriff’s spokesman. The polygraph test was part of an investigation into the slaying of Dirk St. Clair Houston, 37, who was found shot to death in his insurance office in Laguna Hills, Rivas said. Houston’s widow and Montes apparently died of drug overdoses, officials said.