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Man kills family before taking his own life in LA
An unemployed financial adviser apparently despondent over his troubles shot and killed his wife, his mother-in-law and three children before taking his own life in a gated community, Los Angeles police said.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:26 October 7, 2008
Los Angeles: An unemployed financial adviser apparently despondent over his troubles shot and killed his wife, his mother-in-law and three children before taking his own life in a gated community, Los Angeles police said.
Officers responding to a call from concerned friends found the bodies about 8.30am in a two-storey house in the upscale Porter Ranch neighbourhood northwest of downtown, said Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief Michael Moore.
"We believe this to be a murder-suicide," Moore said. "It appears [the gunman] killed his family and then took his own life."
Karthik Rajaram, 45, used a handgun he purchased on September 16, Moore said. The weapon was found still in his grasp, he said. The bodies of the man's 39-year-old wife, 69-year-old mother-in-law, Indra Ramasesham, and three sons - ages 19, 12 and 7 - were found inside the home's bedrooms.
Authorities earlier had said that one of the victims was the gunman's mother but now say it was his mother-in-law. Friends and neighbours identified the suspect's wife as Subasri Rajaram and said the family had lived in the neighbourhood for a few years.
All the victims were shot in the head and some were shot multiple times, Moore said at a news conference in front of the house.
"This is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed," he said. "It is critical for us to step up and recognise we are in some pretty troubled times."
Ramasesham was found in a downstairs bedroom, Moore said. The 19-year-old victim, whom police identified as Krishna Rajaram, was found in the master bedroom and his mother in another upstairs bedroom.
In an adjacent room, police found the 12-year-old, whom school officials identified as Ganesha Rajaram, on the floor and the 7-year-old in bed, Moore said. The gunman was also found in that same room, he said.
Police believe that the gunman shot the victims sometime on Saturday evening, and that he had left behind three letters indicating that he had carried out the killings, Moore said. One letter, addressed to law enforcement, confessed to the shootings. He wrote a second letter to friends. The third letter, police said, appeared to be a will.
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