Troopers say murder suspect kills self during I-15 standoff

Public safety » Russell Goldberg was sought in the slaying of a woman in Southern California.

By Janelle Stecklein

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Feb 22 2012 08:09 pm • Last Updated Feb 23 2012 07:15 am

An armed standoff between a murder suspect and the Utah Highway Patrol that forced the closure of Interstate 15 near Beaver ended late Wednesday night when the suspect killed himself, the UHP said.

Cpl. Todd Johnson said a SWAT team found Russell Scott Goldberg, 49, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his car about 9:45 p.m., about 3 1/2 hours after the standoff began when Goldberg refused to pull over for a UHP trooper while driving northbound on I-15. Goldberg led troopers on a chase before they stopped him by spiking the tires on his green Saturn Vue. The interstate was closed in both directions during the standoff, troopers said, and traffic was being diverted around the scene.

Troopers said nobody else was in the car with Goldberg, a suspect in the murder of a woman in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Police in Redondo Beach found the woman dead inside an apartment about 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, according to a press release, after someone from New York expressed concern about her welfare and asked them to check on her. Police did not identify the woman, but the Easy Reader News, a publication that covers Redondo Beach, identified her as Margaret Ann Goldberg, 45, the ex-wife of Russell Goldberg. The publication reported she was shot to death, and that the couple’s divorce had recently become final. Margaret Goldberg was the mother of two school-aged children, who later learned of their mother’s death, according to the Easy Reader.

Family members said Wednesday night that Russell Goldberg didn’t have friends or relatives in Utah, and was likely passing through when a trooper spotted his car, which authorities in California were seeking.

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