Man Torches Foreclosed Home, Shoots Himself, Wife

Economic hard times took a deadly turn when a soon-to-be-fired 60-year-old California man apparently torched his foreclosed home and shot himself and his wife. Authorities found the remains of two people in the ashes of the suburban San Diego home after the man called 911 to report that he had shot his wife and was going to burn down their home. A neighbor thought the homeowner was joking when he threatened to set his house ablaze, but then "we're smelling gasoline, so we knew that he wasn't messing around," he told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

A bank had foreclosed on the home early last month. "He told me they're being kicked out of their home and they were both laid off from their jobs," said another neighbor. "They had tried for a lower loan rate and were denied." The homeowner "expressed some financial concerns and his wife may have been in ill health," said a police spokesman. "We believe he had at least one firearm." (More arson stories.)