One Dead in Attempted Murder-Suicide

A man is dead and a woman is hospitalized with three gunshot wounds after what appears to be an attempted murder-suicide Sunday morning in a quiet Lake Forest neighborhood off of Trabuco Road, authorities said.

Deputies were dipatched to the house on the 22300 block of Manalastas Drive at 8:25 a.m. after a woman "in distress" called from the house saying that her husband had a gun, and that she was injured, police said.

When deputies arrived, no one answered the door so they forced their way into the house.

In the garage, they found 80-year-old Larry Cucinella, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. They also found Rita Cucinella, 68, with three gunshot wounds to her upper body. Police found a handgun at the scene.

The shot that killed Larry Cucinella appears to have been self-inflicted, sheriff's Lt. Mike Gavin said.

As of noon Sunday, Rita Cucinella was in stable condition at Mission Hospital, police said.

"It appears to have been an isolated incident," Gavin said, adding that there does not appear to be any danger to the neighborhood's residents.

A portion of the neighborhood on Trabuco Road near the city's border with Mission Viejo, between El Toro Road and Los Alisos Road, was blocked off Sunday morning.