83-Year-Old Man Dies as 2 Burglars Ransack South Bay Home

An elderly man apparently suffered a heart attack and died Saturday morning after burglars bound him and his wife and ransacked the couple’s home in an unincorporated area of South Bay, police said.

The exact cause of death of Manuel Bettencourt, 83, was not immediately known, and the San Diego County coroner’s office said an autopsy was to be performed today. He was not shot or stabbed during the altercation, officials said, and police theorized he may have suffered a heart attack during the ordeal.

Bill Robinson, a police spokesman, said the victim’s wife, Agnes Bettencourt, awoke about 8 a.m. in their home in the 4300 block of Murrieta Circle. When she walked into the living room, she noticed that two men had entered the home and that one of them was struggling with her husband.

The men then tied up the couple and continued to ransack the home. However, Agnes Bettencourt was able to free herself. She ran to a house next door, where police were called, Robinson said.

When officers arrived, they found Manuel Bettencourt dead and the assailants gone. The suspects, described as males in their 20s, were last seen carrying luggage and loose clothing on hangers as they ran along a dirt road on the west side of Interstate 805.