Vista

Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating an apparent murder-suicide, Lt. Manny Castillo said Tuesday.

Police and Deputy Coroner Chuck Bolton said Debra C. Cooper, 24, a waitress, was stabbed to death. She was found Monday afternoon in her apartment in the 1300 block of Calle Jules.

Also found dead in the apartment was Ronald I. Posey, 25, unemployed, of Ingelwood, Ohio. He had died from a bullet wound to the head. A .45-caliber pistol was found in the room. Police described Posey as an acquaintance of Cooper.

Both victims were partly clothed and found in the bedroom, police said.

The woman’s year-old son was in the apartment but unharmed, Castillo said. She also has a 2-year-old daughter who was elsewhere. The children were turned over to Cooper’s husband, Brian Cooper.