Man Believed to Have Killed Wife and Self

The bodies of a Laguna Niguel couple were found in their townhome about 72 hours after the husband apparently stabbed and shot his wife and then killed himself, investigators said Tuesday.

David Dittman, 53, is suspected of stabbing his wife at least four times in the upper body and then shooting her once in the chest, said Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson. Dittman then fired the gun at his head.

Deputies went to the home in the 24000 block of Sutton Lane about 6:30 p.m. Monday after Dittman’s psychologist reported that his client had failed to keep a Saturday appointment, and co-workers of both David and Nancy Dittman reported that neither showed up for work Monday.

Deputies forced their way into the home after seeing blood on the kitchen floor through a window, Wilkerson said. Inside, they saw a trail of blood leading upstairs to the bodies.

The body of Nancy Dittman, 36, was in a pool of blood at the entrance to the master bedroom, Wilkerson said. David Dittman’s body was on a futon in bedroom. A .357-caliber gun was in his hand, Wilkerson said.

The deaths occurred on Friday night, apparently triggered by marital problems, he said.

A bloody 6-inch kitchen knife was found in the kitchen-dining area, Wilkerson said. The bloodstains indicated that Dittman dragged his wounded wife toward the bedroom.

Stephanie Straka, who lives next-door in the Camden Court neighborhood, said she and her husband were asleep sometime after 11 p.m. Friday when they heard arguing and a woman wailing.

“I heard a voice like a child’s cry for about 20 seconds. It sounded like a muffled cry,” Straka said. “And then I heard a pop and the walls shook.”

David Dittman apparently worked nights as an engineer, and Nancy Dittman worked for a Newport Beach investment company.

“We never thought such a thing could be possible,” Straka said. “When I heard the noise, I thought it was maybe my kids.”

The Dittmans moved into the 188-townhome development in 1992 and “were the perfect neighbors,” said a resident who declined to give her name. “They were clean and decent people who were never noisy.”

Straka said she is “really saddened that this happened. We just never suspected this could happen to them.”