Ocean
The Living Force
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/07/usa1
LA man shoots family and then himself
Karthik Rajaram detailed his financial difficulties in three letters he left in his home
A Los Angeles man who was beset with financial worries after having trouble finding work has shot dead his wife, three children and mother-in-law before turning the gun on himself.
Karthik Rajaram, a father of three, is thought to have carried out the killings sometime after 6pm on Saturday in the family's home in a gated community in Porter Ranch, a Los Angeles police spokesman said.
Michael Moore, the LA deputy police chief, described it as "a very tragic scene, total devastation inside this home.''
"Inside the home, officers discovered six bodies, all belonging to the family that lived at this location,'' he said.
Rajaram, who had an MBA in finance, was a former employee of major accounting firms but had been unemployed for several months. He left three letters in the home detailing his financial difficulties, police said.
"The source of it appears to be a financial state, a crisis if you will, that this man became embroiled in, that has unfolded over the past weeks," Moore said.
"We believe that he had become despondent over financial dealings and the financial situation of his household and that this murder-suicide event is a direct result of that.''
Officers found the bodies on Monday morning after the wife failed to show up at a neighbour's home to go to work as a pharmacy bookmaker.
Rajaram's body was found with a handgun "in his grasp.''
Later, Moore described it as "this is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. "It is critical to step up and realise we are in some pretty troubling times.''
The gated community, called Sorrento Pointe, is among a number of developments along cul-de-sacs on the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains in Porter Ranch, about 23 miles north-west of downtown.
"It's very quiet here," said Ryan Ransdell, who lives across the street. "That's what's so shocking about this... You'd think someone would have heard it. You can hear a car door shut at night."
LA man shoots family and then himself
Karthik Rajaram detailed his financial difficulties in three letters he left in his home
A Los Angeles man who was beset with financial worries after having trouble finding work has shot dead his wife, three children and mother-in-law before turning the gun on himself.
Karthik Rajaram, a father of three, is thought to have carried out the killings sometime after 6pm on Saturday in the family's home in a gated community in Porter Ranch, a Los Angeles police spokesman said.
Michael Moore, the LA deputy police chief, described it as "a very tragic scene, total devastation inside this home.''
"Inside the home, officers discovered six bodies, all belonging to the family that lived at this location,'' he said.
Rajaram, who had an MBA in finance, was a former employee of major accounting firms but had been unemployed for several months. He left three letters in the home detailing his financial difficulties, police said.
"The source of it appears to be a financial state, a crisis if you will, that this man became embroiled in, that has unfolded over the past weeks," Moore said.
"We believe that he had become despondent over financial dealings and the financial situation of his household and that this murder-suicide event is a direct result of that.''
Officers found the bodies on Monday morning after the wife failed to show up at a neighbour's home to go to work as a pharmacy bookmaker.
Rajaram's body was found with a handgun "in his grasp.''
Later, Moore described it as "this is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. "It is critical to step up and realise we are in some pretty troubling times.''
The gated community, called Sorrento Pointe, is among a number of developments along cul-de-sacs on the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains in Porter Ranch, about 23 miles north-west of downtown.
"It's very quiet here," said Ryan Ransdell, who lives across the street. "That's what's so shocking about this... You'd think someone would have heard it. You can hear a car door shut at night."
