89-YEAR-OLD SUSPECTED IN WIFE'S DEATH.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

A woman found her ailing 86-year-old mother dead, apparently at the hands of her 89-year-old father, and then saw her father shoot himself Sunday while she was calling 911, according to officials.

The mother, Frances Tucker, was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, according to officials.

Her husband, Herbert, was listed in extremely critical condition at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center on Sunday, Deputy Michael Irving of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a prepared news release.

Herbert Tucker recently had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Irving said.

The couple's daughter, who was not identified, was sleeping in the house in the 4800 block of W. Avenue L-12 when she heard a gunshot from her parent's bedroom, Irving said. She went to the room and found her mother shot in the upper body. She also witnessed her father holding a gun.

As she was calling 911 at 4:44 a.m., she saw her father shoot himself, also in the upper body, authorities said.

The daughter said her parents were despondent over their failing health.

Authorities are calling the incident a possible murder-suicide attempt.