Long Beach Detective Found Shot to Death

The husband of a 32-year-old Long Beach Police Department detective found her fatally shot early Friday in their Rancho Santa Margarita home, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.

Suphada “Sue” Nelson had a single gunshot wound to her upper torso that “appeared to be self-inflicted,” and an autopsy will be conducted this morning by the coroner’s office, a department spokesman said.

A gun was found, but it hasn’t been determined if it was her service weapon.

Kevin Nelson returned to the couple’s home about 10:30 a.m. after his wife’s supervisor reported that she had not been present for roll call, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

“The Long Beach Police Department is deeply saddened to announce the death of Det. Suphada ‘Sue’ Nelson,” a prepared statement read.

Sue Nelson was an auto theft detail investigator who had joined the department in 1990, worked as a patrol officer and then moved into various detective assignments. Her husband is a detective in the gang detail, the department said.

Besides her husband, Nelson is survived by a 6-year-old daughter.