Rancho Bernardo

A Rancho Bernardo man shot his wife to death, then killed himself early Monday morning, San Diego police said.

Thomas Fredric Peel and Frances Helen Peel, both 69, were discovered by police shortly before 9 a.m. in their second-floor apartment on Plaza Otonal. Officers said they were alerted by a man who had been scheduled to meet with the Peels at 8:30 a.m. He had knocked on their door and received no response.

A police officer used a ladder to enter the apartment through a bedroom window. He found the Peels lying in another bedroom, both shot in the head, authorities said. Peel was still holding a .30-caliber rifle, police said.

Everett Mauger, a San Diego County deputy coroner, said his investigation showed Peel had experienced bouts of depression since suffering a stroke last year. Mauger said the deaths occurred about 4:30 a.m., when people in the area reported hearing “two rapid undefined noises.”

A San Diego police homicide team was investigating.