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A man and a
woman died in an apparent murder-suicide last night in Altadena. The man was
74-year-old Dominic Vittorio. The woman was his 70-year-old wife, Victoria. The
couple had been married for 50 years. In fact, their 50th anniversary occurred
just a month ago, according to their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Allen. The couple
was childless and had no close friends. Mr. Vittorio was a retired carpenter who
had emphysema and was blind in one eye because of a cataract. His wife was a
diabetic who had already had one foot amputated because of complications from
the disease. Her eyesight was almost completely gone.
“They were
such a nice couple,” said Mrs. Allen. “I’ve lived next to them for the last 20
years or so. I’m widowed, and Dom always used to help me with things like
changing light bulbs and fixing appliances. They had no kids, but they were
always friendly to the neighborhood kids. Every Halloween they handed out tons
of candy and fresh fruit. But about eight years ago Vicky came down with
diabetes, and things just haven’t been the same for her or Dom. They used to be
so friendly and full of life, and then they just seemed to get quieter and
quieter.
“She used
to come over to my place once or twice a week, and we would talk about all kinds
of things and have the nicest time. But that happened less and less as she got
sicker. So I would go over to her house about once a week and we would talk. But
the conversations steadily got shorter, and she seemed to lose interest in
listening and in talking. She didn’t say it, but you could tell she was in a lot
of pain.”
Mrs. Allen
said she hadn’t even talked to either of the Vittorios in almost a year. They
never came out. Even food was delivered to them by a local agency. She said she
heard two gunshots last night—“It scared me half to death!” She immediately
called the police. “Such a sad ending for such nice people,” she said. “Together
in sickness, but alone in the world.”
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