HEARTBREAKING

New Mexico Judge Shot Dead Along With Her Pets

Police say they believe her husband killed her and the animals before turning the gun on himself.

A newly elected judge in New Mexico has been found shot dead along with her pets in what police are calling a murder-suicide. Diane Albert, a municipal judge for the Village of Los Ranchos and a former Los Alamos County Commissioner, was found dead Friday after a friend alerted police to a “troubling message” from Albert’s husband, the Albuquerque Journal reports, citing a spokeswoman for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. “[Eric] Pinkerton is believed to have shot his wife and several animals in the house before shooting himself,” the spokeswoman was quoted saying. Deputies reportedly found the bodies of several dogs and a cat at the couple’s home. Local news outlet KOAT reports that dispatch tapes obtained from the sheriff’s office revealed deputies being told: “He left a voice-mail to his friend stating that he murdered his wife and his dogs and his cat. And he is about to murder himself.”