Suspect in 2 Slayings Kills Self After Chase

A man shot and killed his estranged wife and the woman’s male companion Saturday morning, then led police on a 90-minute chase along 10 Los Angeles freeways before killing himself in front of a home where his two teenage sons were staying, authorities said.

Maria Funes and Vicente Mejia, both in their late 30s, were killed by Funes’ husband at 8 a.m. on a street in Eagle Rock, about 100 yards from the north entrance of Occidental College, police said.

The identity of the gunman had not been released by late Saturday, as authorities sought to notify the man’s relatives.

The violence began when Funes and Mejia drove to the neighborhood, near Ridgeview Avenue and Campus Road. The couple was picking up Funes’ car, which had been there about a week. Funes’ sister works on Ridgeview Avenue, caring for an elderly woman in one of the neighborhood’s homes.

But just as Mejia was about to drop Funes off, the woman’s husband confronted the pair.

Aiming a revolver through the passenger side window, he fired at least four shots, striking both victims more than once, police said. They died at the scene.

Hearing the gunshots, Funes’ sister went to investigate. Seeing her sister slumped in the truck, she began sobbing.

By that time, the gunman had driven off toward his home just north of Culver City. Police thought he might return there and were waiting. The prolonged chase began.

The gunman, described as about 40, sped off in his red Toyota Corolla along an erratic course that headed toward Long Beach before turning north. Barely exceeding the speed limit, he passed through East Los Angeles, downtown and the San Fernando Valley before turning toward the Westside.

The gunman finally stopped there, in front of an apartment house east of Culver City where his 13- and 16-year-old sons were staying with a relative, police said.

Officers using a public address system pleaded with the man to put down his pistol and come out of the car. Instead, he turned the gun on himself and fired.

His sons apparently did not see what happened, said police, who cordoned off the 3000 block of Cloverdale Avenue where the shooting occurred.

“There is a lot we still don’t know and a lot of information we’re still gathering,” said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Mike Partain.