Printer-friendly version
By Miriam Raftery
October 11, 2011 (Borrego Springs) – Judy Winter Meier, long-time editor of the Borrego Sun, has been identified as the victim of an apparent murder-suicide. Her body was found last night at her home, along with her estranged husband, Jim Meier.
“Judy was a competent professional. She was the institutional knowledge of this paper,” reporter Casey Jones told ECM. “There has not been an issue published in 30 years without her byline on it,” he said, adding that Meier covered the local school, water, and fire districts as well as youth sports and more.
Jones said he was “very surprised” to hear of the tragedy. “I think everybody is,” he added. “There are a lot of people stopping in the office and offering condolences.”
San Diego Sheriff’s deputies found Meier, 61, dead in her kitchen last night. Deputies had been asked to check on her after she failed to show up for work. Her estranged husband, 59, was found deceased on the sofa.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the couple had been married for 37 years but Judy Meier filed for divorce in May. Jim Meier worked as a freelance computer technician, according to Jones, and previously worked as a ranger at Anza Borrego State Park. The Union-Tribune reports that former park Superintendent Mark Jorgensen has indicated that Meier had anger issues and was allowed to retire rather than be fired.
“There was always the subliminal thought that maybe here is a person that shouldn’t be allowed to carry a gun and a badge,” Jorgensen told the Union-Tribune.
Carlos Medina, a Sheriff’s deputy in Borrego Springs, called Meier “probably the most well-known person in town,” the Union-Tribune reported. “She’s going to be missed.”
Recent comments