Man, Former Girlfriend Dead in Murder-Suicide

A Westminster man who shot his estranged girlfriend to death Monday died hours later of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said Tuesday.

Eileen Jenkins, 41, of Westminster, who was shot twice in the chest, was pronounced dead at Los Alamitos Medical Center on Monday night.

Edward Guidi, 46, who was shot once in the head, died later Monday night at Humana Hospital-Westminster, police said.

The couple were discovered shortly after the shooting by Jenkins’ 17-year-old daughter, Jennifer, police and neighbors said.

According to Evelyn Jenkins, the victim’s mother-in-law who lives next door, Jennifer discovered her mother lying in the kitchen and Guidi in the living room after returning from a date with her boyfriend around 7:30 p.m. Monday.

“I heard someone screaming, ‘My mother’s dead! My mother’s dead!’ ” Evelyn Jenkins said. “I went outside and she was running wild. . . . She was in terrible shape. I can’t put it into words. She almost collapsed by the time the paramedics arrived.”

Relatives and friends were stunned and shaken.

According to Yolanda Palmer, a friend and neighbor of the victim, Eileen Jenkins and Guidi drew close to one another after the death of Jenkins’ husband, William, of a heart attack about eight months ago. Guidi, a trucker, was a friend of her husband.

“Ed loved her and wanted to marry her,” Palmer said. “He was devoted to her. He was a good friend and fun to be with.”

Palmer and Evelyn Jenkins said Guidi came often to the house and helped Eileen Jenkins with her yard work.

“She told him it was too soon (to marry) and he accepted it,” Palmer said. “He told me, ‘I know she needs time, I am trying to give her time.’ But he pushed for a commitment. Then, in the last two weeks, she told him that she needed more time and space.”

Palmer described Eileen Jenkins, who worked in an escrow office, as “loving and caring. And lost--looking for help, still not over the death of her husband.”

Evelyn Jenkins said her daughter-in-law had been married for more than two years to her son. Eileen Jenkins continued to live in the house with two daughters from a previous marriage, Kim, 21, and Jennifer.