Husband allegedly killed wife, himself
A domestic dispute between a Santa Monica couple turned deadly over the weekend after the husband allegedly shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself.
Santa Monica police were called to 901 Euclid Ave. Sunday at 11:30 a.m. after the daughters of the couple found their parents dead in their apartment. Preliminary investigation indicates that it was a murder-suicide, police said. The cause of death for the man and woman is from apparent gunshot wounds, police said.
Witnesses said the daughters, one in her early 20s and the other a teen-ager, went to the apartment after becoming worried about them when they couldn’t reach them over the weekend.
A man who was with the women called police after they broke into the apartment through a window and found their parents dead in the living room, witnesses said.
A woman walking her dog along Idaho Avenue and Euclid Street Sunday morning said the daughters’screams caught her attention so she stopped to talk to them.
“She was beside herself,” said W. Friedman. “The older one said ‘I had such a feeling. I knew it was going to happen... I don’t know why I can’t cry.’”
Several neighbors said the couple, who lived in the apartment for about three months, fought incessantly. Police are investigating the motive.
Bill Bauer, who lives across the street from the couple and writes for the Daily Press, said he called the police about a month ago because of their arguing.
“The couple of months they’ve been there they’ve definitely made their presence known,” he said. “There were a lot of four letter words over there. I know she was 52 because I heard her yell it once.”
Sources who spoke to the daughters said they believed their father might have shot their mother before committing suicide.
A man who declined to give his name said he was walking down Idaho Avenue Friday at about 6:15 p.m. when he heard yelling coming from the apartment.
“I heard people arguing and there was stuff being thrown around and the windows were shaking,” he said. “I walked to the end of the corner and heard ‘bang, bang.’ I have been around guns and those were definitely gunshots.”
“I walked to the end of the corner and heard ‘bang, bang.’ I have been around guns and those were definitely gunshots.” — — NEIGHBOR
Police have not said when the incident took place, or how long the bodies were in the apartment. The investigation is ongoing.
An unidentified neighbor who lives below the couple said he didn’t know them, but would see and hear them frequently. He said he didn’t hear gunshots on Friday.
“I only heard him yelling at her,” the neighbor said. “I was afraid of him because of his temper. You never think it could come to this.”
The husband, who is described as a muscular man in his 50s with a lot of tattoos, apparently was trying to kick a drug habit, according to sources.
“He was in good shape except mentally,” said the neighbor.
The identities of the husband and wife have not been released.
Neighbors said the couple lived there alone and their daughters, of which they have several, lived elsewhere, possibly Culver City.
On Sunday, police guarded the crime scene throughout the afternoon. The Los Angeles Coroner removed the bodies about 4:30 p.m.
The Santa Monica Police Department’s Robbery/Homicide unit is handling the investigation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.