5 Bodies Found In Upscale Calif. Home

Sheriff: 2 Handguns Found Near Decomposing Bodies Of Family Members

(AP)  Authorities said Monday they found two handguns with the decomposed bodies of five family members discovered in a home overlooking the ocean in a wealthy, gated Orange County community.

It was unclear how the family died and neither homicide nor suicide could immediately be ruled out, said sheriff's Lt. Erin Giudice. She said there was no threat to the community and deputies were not searching for any suspects.

The handguns were found near the bodies of a man and woman in their 40s or 50s who were discovered together Sunday in a downstairs closet, Giudice said. The bodies of a woman in her 70s and two sisters in their early 20s were found in the attached bedroom, she said.

One of the guns was registered to the woman found in the closet, Giudice said.

The man appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound, but it was impossible to tell if the others had been shot as well because of the advanced decomposition of the bodies, she said. Authorities believed the bodies had been in the house for two to three weeks.

"The bodies were terribly, terribly decomposed," she said. Investigators wore breathing apparatus while searching the house for evidence Sunday evening.

The coroner started autopsies Monday morning but Giudice said the procedures wouldn't be completed until Tuesday. Identities of the dead wouldn't be available until Tuesday because of the difficulty of examining bodies in such advanced decomposition, she said.

Giudice said deputies were called to the home twice in recent weeks - on May 14 and Saturday - by concerned neighbors and family members, but in both cases the callers thought the family might be on vacation.

Deputies didn't enter the house and saw nothing amiss. Police generally can't enter a home in such a situation unless they see something suspicious.

Deputies called a locksmith on Saturday to get into a car parked in the driveway for an unsuccessful search for a garage door remote.

On Sunday, the relatives broke into the house and found the bodies, Giudice said.

The house is in Sea Pointe Estates, a gated community of about 75 upscale homes on a hill near the coast in San Clemente, about 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles at the southern edge of Orange County.

[ladyephesus1]

Family did not notice anything after 3 weeks?
yeah, something is awfully strange here.

[oldat45]

The father killed himself much later. Police speculate that the time lag may have been related to the empty DVD box set of "Friends" lying on the carpet next to the TV.

[incog-nito]

It was the Dad...he killed the family, then himself much later...hence the advanced decomposition on the other bodies. That''''s my guess.

Posted by susan10001 at 06:03 PM : May 27, 2008

Or maybe he drank a gallon of formaldehyde just before killing himself, thus keeping his body well-preserved. That''s my guess.

[incog-nito]

More evidence that money doesn''t buy happiness.

[closethippy1]

The police better come up with a better way to search for missing people than just walk around a house and call it quits just because they didn''t see or hear anything.
Over and over again I keep on reading about how the police are called to investigate a missing person report and almost always they end up doing the utmost minimun and then go away.
Don''t they have dogs to sniff out dead people???
Don''t they have the technology to look through a house to see if there''s anyone there?
They sure have the best technology in the entire universe to see if anyone is growing marihuana in the privacy of their homes but God forbid they develop anything that can help them see if there are dead bodies in a house.
Come on, guys, this is 2 thousand and freaking 8, we need to develop some technologies to speed up things, don''t you think???

[nothappyatall]

How does FIVE shots ring out and NO ONE hear a thing?

[bdrlnt4rl]

stained with a milk and blood mix?? (insert spine shiver here) c-r-e-e-p-y! (we didn''''t go...in-laws did)

Posted by sbbm

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and you actually believe the inlaws on this one, your nuts, not utah.

[gce65]

Ah, the American dream.
In all-American Orange County.

[misssuzq]

Why does the media ALWAYS have to say "upscale" or words to say better off than most of us?

5 lives are gone.

Is it more important if they lived well than 5 people in a basic suburb?

[susan10001-2009]

It was the Dad...he killed the family, then himself much later...hence the advanced decomposition on the other bodies. That''s my guess.

[veteran72]

I want to hear the details on this before I make a guess as to what happened.....
They could have been some wacko religious freaks that believed they were going to meet their chosen deity...
The old folks didn''t have to wack the two young girls though, no matter how bad things may have been financially. Start up a high dollar call girl ring, and Cha-Ching!!!....Mortgage payed and bank account back in the black......

[thewarning2]

Did Charles Manson get paroled????

[bdrlnt4rl]

let me rephrase that.......


The gardener did it.

Posted by Willyhenail

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haha. he is not american made either!!!!!!!

[bdrlnt4rl]

The gardener did it.

Posted by Willyhenail

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haha. he is american made either!!!!!!!

[killface7]

bullcrap. officers enter for these types of calls. Silly excuse!

[bikerb54]

WOW. just read some of the comments. And I see of course gopsoccermom has her usual narrowminded 2 cents to put in. My bet is she is an Oral Roberts or Pat Robertson groupie. I''ve seen some pretty horrible acts done by upright white citizens. Don''t blame all the evils of the world on minorities.

[acolton1]

YOU MUST PAY THE Coke Dealer and your debts at the Casino and the Crack House. or they shoot ya and kill the rest of the family while the Cat and Dog watch.

[bdrlnt4rl]

the maid was not american made!

[bdrlnt4rl]

Ya gotta pay the coke dealer. Ya just gotta.

Posted by SistaTee
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the coke was not even american made! its NAFTA!

[bdrlnt4rl]

its NAFTA i tell ya, NAFTA. the gun was not american made! the made was not american made, the clothes that were hanging in the closet was not american made. its NAFTA i tell ya!