UPDATE: New details in Santa Cruz murder-suicide

UPDATE 1/11/16 4:30 PM: The Santa Cruz Police Department has identified the two people found dead in an apartment on Chestnut Street on January 5. The case is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

The female victim is Cherish Villapia, 22, from Iowa. The suspect is Howard Atkinson, 35. Atkinson recently moved from Texas to Santa Cruz.

Police say Villapia was visiting the apartment over the holidays. They say Villapia is Atkinson’s sister-in-law and that the two were not in a relationship.

Police say they have a working theory about the motive. They say more details will be revealed once the autopsies and other parts of the investigation are complete.

UPDATE 1/6/16 2:30 PM: Santa Cruz Police detectives believe the case is a homicide-suicide.

Evidence indicates the man shot and killed the woman before turning the gun on himself. Detectives say the woman is the sister-in-law of the man.

Detectives found a handgun at the scene. They say there’s no danger to the public as this doesn’t appear to be random.

Forensic tests and autopsies are still pending.

ORIGINAL STORY: Santa Cruz police are investigating two suspicious deaths.

On Tuesday just before 7:00 p.m., officers responded to an apartment on the 100 block of Chestnut Street after a call for a welfare check.

The concerned relative indicated that a man and a woman had been locked inside a room in the apartment for an extended period of time.

Officers discovered a 35-year-old Santa Cruz man and a 23-year-old woman, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. The woman was visiting from out of the area.

Police expect to release more details about the investigation on Wednesday afternoon.