MAN, 89, WHO TURNED GUN ON HIMSELF ON LIFE SUPPORT.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer

An 89-year-old man who fatally shot his Alzheimer's-afflicted wife after learning that he has Parkinson's disease remained hospitalized Monday in extremely critical condition, authorities said.

Herbert Tucker shot himself in the head moments after killing his wife as the couple's daughter tried to call for help, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said.

``He's critical and on life support and they don't expect him to live,'' said sheriff's Lt. David Dietrich.

Tucker's 86-year-old wife, Frances, who sheriff's officials said suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died at the scene from a gunshot wound.

Both Tuckers had been despondent over failing health, the daughter told deputies, and she was visiting from Northern California to try to decide whether they could continue to live alone.

The shooting happened about 4:40 a.m. Sunday in the couple's home in the 4800 block of West Avenue L-12.

The couple's daughter was sleeping in another room when she heard a gunshot in her parents' bedroom, deputies said.

She went to the bedroom and found her mother shot and her father holding a gun. As she dialed 911, she saw her father shoot himself, deputies said.

``As he was about to pull the trigger, she cried, `no,' grabbed the phone and heard a shot,'' Dietrich said.

The daughter, whose name was not released, had come to stay with her parents three or four days earlier because of her father's diagnosis with Parkinson's disease, Dietrich said.

``She was seeing how stable he was and how stable (her mother) she was. She was going to have to make a decision about what to do with them,'' Dietrich said.