Estranged couple found dead

Whittier police are investigating the apparent murder-suicide of an estranged couple found in the Whittier Inn motel Saturday.

Motel management called police at 11:20 a.m. Saturday when employees found a body in the room from which Curtis Harris, 34, of Chino and Monica Harris, 37, of Upland, failed to check out on time, said Officer Diana Salazar of the Whittier Police Department.

Police found the second body in the small motel room, which Salazar said was in disarray.

Police believe Curtis Harris shot Monica Harris with a handgun and then shot himself sometime after checking into the motel Friday morning.

Neighbors in the motel told police they did not hear anything suspicious.

The Harrises, who have a 4-year-old daughter, were going through a divorce, Salazar said.

Curtis Harris was set to turn himself in to police to serve a 16-month prison term after pleading no contest to false imprisonment and weapons charges from an incident involving his estranged wife, police said.

In November, Curtis Harris handcuffed Monica Harris and held her captive in a hotel after taking her from a West Covina park, said West Covina Police Lt. Dan Brooks. Curtis Harris released his wife and then abducted her again the next day, when he bound her and threatened her with a stun gun, he said.

Monica Harris escaped and reported both incidents to police, who arrested Curtis Harris in Chino, police said.

-- Tiffany Hsu