2 Found Dead in Borrego Springs Home

By R. Stickney and Tony Shin

| Thursday, Oct 13, 2011 | Updated 10:14 AM PDT

Investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department are looking into two shooting deaths inside a Borrego Springs home.

Deputies were asked to stop by a home owned by Jim and Judy Meier on Saint Thomas Drive to perform a welfare check. When they arrived there just after 6 p.m. Monday, they looked through a window and saw the body of a Jim Meier, 59, on the couch in the living room.

Inside the home, deputies confirmed the man was dead and found another body, that of a Judy Winter Meier, 61, in the kitchen of the home.

Deputies said it appears Jim Meier shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself.

Judy Meier was a well known editor for the Borrego Sun newspaper and a beloved member of the desert community.

Neighbors said the couple had a rocky marriage and Judy had recently filed for divorce.

"I am in disbelief, said friend and neighbor Kathy Paredes. "She was an inspiration, a very lovely, lovely person."

Co-workers at Borrego Sun said Judy had worked for the newspaper for more than 35 years.

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