Police Say Marine Shot Wife, Self Before Car Crash

Police said Sunday that a 22-year-old El Toro Marine apparently shot his estranged wife and then drove off a 400-foot cliff on Ortega Highway as part of a murder-suicide plan.

The bodies of Cpl. Richard Brian Junck, who lived at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and his wife, Heidi Sue Junck, 21, of Barstow, were found in the car Saturday night at the bottom of a steep ravine about 15 miles east of Interstate 5.

Officials said they believe Richard Junck picked up his wife in Barstow sometime Saturday and later shot her. They said Junck also shot himself before his auto plunged off Ortega Highway about 7:40 p.m. Saturday.

“Richard Junck died of a combination of the gunshot wound and the vehicle crash,” Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. David Milewski said. “Heidi Sue Junck died of a gunshot wound.”

It was not clear when or where Junck shot his wife, officials said. They also did not know whether Junck shot himself as he was driving off the cliff or whether Junck’s death forced the car to veer off the road.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said Saturday, however, that there were “strong indications,” including an eyewitness report, that the car had been deliberately driven off the road.

Orange County sheriff’s officials said the couple had been involved in a “domestic dispute” in Barstow several hours before they died, but details were not available Sunday. Police in Barstow and San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials could not confirm the alleged dispute.

Officials said Sunday that Heidi Junck told military police at a Marine supply center near Barstow nearly three weeks ago that she feared for her safety. Richard Junck was detained in Barstow for a short time and released to a commanding officer after his wife’s Oct. 6 report, a military spokesman said. How long and why Richard Junck was detained was unclear, the spokesman added.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was first contacted at 8:30 p.m. Saturday when Heidi Junck’s brother reported that his sister had not returned from her shift at a Carl’s Jr. fast-food restaurant in Barstow.

A dispatcher at the sheriff’s substation in Barstow said Sunday that Heidi Junck had been living in Barstow with her brother, who was identified only as “Mr. Vaughan.” Sheriff’s Deputy Laurie Savage said Vaughan called police from the Marine supply center near Barstow.

Vaughan is a Marine who works at the supply depot, according to a friend. During the call, Vaughan told authorities that his sister has had problems with her estranged husband.

A spokeswoman at El Toro said Sunday that military police in Barstow had also been searching for Richard Junck on Saturday because “they suspected he abducted” his wife. Spokeswoman Cpl. Christy McGill said the Barstow military police contacted El Toro authorities Saturday. She did not say, however, how the Barstow military police had been alerted.

“It was not a formal search and there was no arrest warrant out for him,” McGill said.

San Bernardino officials issued a missing person’s report Saturday, based on the brother’s call. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a missing person’s report Saturday regarding the Juncks, Milewski said.

San Bernardino officials were contacted by Orange County authorities when the bodies were found in the car.

Milewski said he could not release any further details about the case.

Times staff writer Eric Young contributed to this story.