LOCAL : Lawyer Killed; Suspect Shoots Self

Los Angeles lawyer and author Gerald Goldfarb was shot to death in a Newport Beach townhouse after he argued with a woman who then shot herself in the stomach, authorities said this morning.

Pamela Ayers, 45, of Newport Beach critically wounded herself after she allegedly fired 10 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun she had purchased only hours before the shooting Wednesday, police said.

Goldfarb died from multiple wounds, and Ayers underwent surgery for a wound to the abdomen and is listed in critical condition today at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. Her bail was set at $250,000, police said.

Goldfarb, 49, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a monthly columnist for the Whole Life Times. Robert Hertzberg, a friend, said that Goldfarb had co-written a book, “Winning With Your Lawyer,” and that he hosted a show on Century Cable television.

Police said Goldfarb and Ayers were longtime friends but would not say whether the relationship was romantic. Hertzberg said that Goldfarb “has been happy as a clam lately . . . and he was only married two months ago.”

The shotgun allegedly used still carried price tags, authorities said.