He was later the husband of science-fiction writer Alice B. Sheldon (alias James Tiptree Jr.), 12 years his junior. In 1987, she shot and killed Sheldon and then herself in what was either a murder-suicide or, based on her personal writings, a suicide pact.
He was later married to science-fiction author Alice B. Sheldon (pen name James Tiptree Jr.), 12 years his junior. In 1987, she fatally shot him and then herself in a tragic incident that could be classified as either murder-suicide or a pre-planned joint suicide.