Shooting Death of Detective in S. County Seen as Suicide

A 32-year-old Long Beach police department detective was found by her detective husband fatally shot early Friday in their Rancho Santa Margarita home, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. The incident is being investigated as a possible suicide, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Suphada “Sue” Nelson suffered a single gunshot wound to her upper torso that “appeared to be self-inflicted,” a department investigator said. An autopsy will be conducted this morning by the Orange County coroner’s office.

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

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

The investigation is continuing, Amormino said. Circumstances, among them the location and position of the gun, “suggest suicide,” he said.

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.

The couple have a 6-year-old daughter who was not at home at the time of the shooting, Amormino said.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, police said.