Paradise Hills pair in apparent murder-suicide identified

By Debbi Baker

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Originally published 7:24 a.m. July 20, 2009, updated 1:24 p.m., July 20, 2009

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Paradise Hills home where two were found dead in apparent murder-suicide.

PARADISE HILLS — A man and a woman found dead in a Paradise Hills home early Monday morning in an apparent murder suicide have been identified, police said.

The bodies of 41-year-old Eustacio Torres and Bernadette Agustin, 52, were discovered about 12:20 a.m. by Torres' nephew at the home he shared with his uncle on Reo Drive near Potomac Street, said San Diego police homicide Lt. Terry McManus.

The nephew called police and said he had just gotten back from a trip when he found the bodies in a converted garage unit of the home, McManus said.

Officers arrived about five minutes later and determined the pair apparently died from gun shot wounds, the lieutenant said.

Detectives do not know which person was the murder victim and which person committed suicide, nor do they know when the crime occurred, McManus said.

Agustin, who did not live at the home and had an address in Mira Mesa, was Torres's business partner and the couple had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship, McManus said.

Investigators are in the process of collecting evidence and talking with family members and neighbors to find out what led to the shooting.

Further investigation and autopsys should help determine the time of the shootings, the exact cause of death and identify who fired the shots, McManus said.