An altercation between a husband and wife turned into an attempted murder and suicide this evening, St. Lucie County authorities said.

William Beck, 54, of Fort Pierce, shot his wife Jacqueline Beck, 54, twice and then turn his .32-caliber automatic pistol on himself. William Beck, who shot in himself in the head, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his wife was critically injured, St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said in a statement. She was transported to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where she was being treated tonight.

The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. in the 3400 block of Fort Walton Avenue, Mascara said. William Beck and Jacqueline Beck were married but not living together.

According to detectives, Jacqueline Beck went to William Beck’s home at his request. She told detectives she intended to tell her husband she wanted a divorce.

Following a physical altercation, William Beck shot his wife once in the face and once in the chest and then turned the gun on himself. She ran outside and screamed for help, and a detective who lives nearby found her lying on the front porch of the house.

Detectives found the gun underneath William Beck’s body.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Crime, Fort Pierce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.