A woman who was killed by her husband who then killed himself died by strangulation, San Diego police said Thursday. The San Ysidro couple's disappearance prompted a search for the missing pair in the days leading up to Christmas.
The bodies of Melissa and Johnny Soto were found by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Tuesday afternoon in a car at the Golden Acorn Casino, San Diego police said. The man had a gunshot wound to the head and the woman died by strangulation, SDPD's investigation found.
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The Sotos, who were recently separated, were last seen by their youngest son, Vincent.
“It felt like a normal night,” Vincent recalled. “He was just sitting here watching TV like he always does. And my parents, they always talk. He asked me, ‘Hey, Vinny, can you leave for a minute? We're going to talk.’ So I left the house, not assuming anything.”
Vincent waited for about an hour and a half before his dad texted him saying they’d left and he could come back home. As the hours passed without the parents returning, the siblings started to worry. They called police the following morning and reached out to their aunt Christina Sandoval.
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“They left with no clothes,” Sandoval told NBC 7. “They left with nothing. All his clothes that he wears normally, like the sweats there in the bedroom. Her phone was left here. Her wallet was left here. Her keys were left here, and then his phone was turned off about 15 to 20 minutes after he left here.”
Melissa and Johnny’s relatives told NBC 7 that the couple's marriage was rocky. After more than 20 years together, they separated in July.
Neighbors' surveillance video appeared to show the last moments the couple may have been seen. At about 8:51 p.m., the video shows a car believed to be Melissa's pulling into the driveway of the Soto home. According to neighbor Raymond Arzola, a man appeared to get out of the driver's seat. Then, at 10:19 p.m., the same car pulled out of the driveway, turned around and pulled back into the driveway in reverse.
A different neighbor’s surveillance video shows the garage door and car trunk both open six minutes later. Arzola believes Johnny can be seen on the video. Family said police checked the trunk and didn’t find anything.
Arzola said he saw a man get back in his silver Toyota Tacoma before driving off at 10:33 p.m. He added he never saw Melissa on his surveillance footage.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
Click here for domestic violence resources in San Diego County and here for the Spanish version. Click here for considerations for people experiencing domestic violence
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
