Couple Shot Outside N.M. Courthouse

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) â€” A man facing a domestic violence charge was found shot to death next to his slain wife outside a courthouse in what police describe as a murder-suicide. <br><br>Shots rang out

Tuesday, October 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) â€” A man facing a domestic violence charge was found shot to death next to his slain wife outside a courthouse in what police describe as a murder-suicide.

Shots rang out around Monday after Everett Stevenson, 73, and his 66-year-old wife Ruth met upon arriving separately for a hearing in the spousal battery case, police Sgt. John Francis said.

The shots were heard inside the building, which the Police Department shares with the municipal courts in this town on the northwest outskirts of Albuquerque. Police had a witness but could not confirm who shot whom.

Stevenson had been arrested Sept. 22 on a misdemeanor battery charge involving his wife, and the hearing was scheduled on that charge, Francis said.

Ruth Stevenson had filed for divorce Oct. 16 on grounds of incompatibility, her petition said. The couple had been married 45 years.

Courts were closed for the day after the shootings.