Back from Iraq, couple dead in murder-suicide

Police: Couple’s deaths a murder-suicide

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 15, 2008 21:31:39 EDT

KILLEEN, Texas — Police are investigating the apparent murder-suicide of an estranged couple, two Army soldiers who had returned just months earlier from Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Gilberto Mota and Spc. Diana Mota were found dead late Saturday in a house in Killeen, near Fort Hood, Killeen police said.

Relatives said the couple was separated. They became concerned after Diana Mota went to the house earlier in the day to talk to her husband and was not heard from again, police said.

Evidence suggests that Gilberto Mota shot his wife and then himself; both had gunshot wounds to the head, said Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin.

Gilberto Mota, 34, of California, returned from Iraq in November after a 13-month deployment, according to officials at Fort Hood. He was assigned to 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division since 2006 as an artillery mechanic.

Diana Mota, 30, of Killeen, returned from Iraq in December after a 14-month deployment, according to officials at Fort Hood. She was assigned to Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division since November as an automated logistical specialist. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_murdersuicide_041508/