The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said that the married couple went missing a couple of days before Christmas. They were reported missing by their three adult children.
On Tuesday, December 26, the SDPD stated that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol found a car that was linked to one of the missing people in the parking lot of Campo’s Golden Acorn Casino, located at 1800 Golden Acorn Way, at around 12:30 p.m.
Inside the vehicle, they found the dead bodies of 52-year-old Johnny Soto and a 45-year-old Melissa Soto. Family members confirmed them as the missing parents.
“The initial investigation indicated the male and female were missing under suspicious circumstances. The exact nature of what occurred and why they were missing is still under investigation,” a release from the SDPD southern division stated.
When the investigation started, SDPD detectives said that they soon realized that the couple was living separately and that most likely a domestic violence incident occurred before they went missing.
When the couple’s bodies were found the officers agreed that the Johnny Soto died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, so his death was determined as suicide.
While Melissa Soto’s injuries are yet to be determined the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office will release more information later.
From what was found at the scene and during the investigation the police department is looking at her death as a homicide, with the husband being the only suspect.
If you have more information for SDPD regarding this case, reach out to the homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
*Updated 12/27/2023, at 1:49 p.m.