Apparent murder/suicide in Thousand Oaks

 

 

 

 

Two children found dead by their mother in a Thousand Oaks apartment were apparently murdered by their father who later committed suicide, according to authorities.

Jason Mulvaney, 12, and Jennifer Mulvaney, 7, were allegedly killed by their father in their bedrooms. Their bodies had multiple stab wounds from a large knife that was found inside the home. Their murders probably occurred sometime the night of Tues., Sept. 15 or early Wednesday morning while they were sleeping, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Their father, James Mulvaney, 52, was found dead in the apartment’s living room area. He is thought to have committed suicide after 2 p.m. Wednesday, Bonfiglio said.

"It is believed James Mulvaney overdosed on prescription medication, but we will have to wait three to four months for the toxicology reports to verify that," said deputy medical examiner Michael Tellez.

The children’s parents had recently been divorced and were fighting a custody battle, according to court records. Court documents also show that their father had lost his job two weeks ago. He was seeking spousal support from his ex-wife who, according to court records, made more money than he did when he was working.

Their mother, Julie Mulvaney, called 911 at 5:42 p.m. Wed., Sept. 16 after discovering the bodies of her ex-husband and their two children in The Knolls apartment complex in the 2700 block of White Ridge Place, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Detective Eric Buschow.

She had dropped the children off at 4 p.m. the day before to spend the night with their father. When she went to pick them up on Wednesday, she was expecting the children to be attending their usual after-school programs. When they weren’t where they were supposed to be, she went to the first floor apartment, found the door unlocked, and went inside where she found a horrific scene, Bonfiglio said.

"When I saw the mother, she was hysterical, crying and holding onto the railing (outside of the apartment) for dear life," said Bonnie Shapiro, 29, who lives near the murder scene.

Shapiro was the first person to approach the mother.

"I stayed with her until the police came and took her away," she said.

Although she doesn’t remember much about the family, Shapiro said James Mulvaney would come outside and watch his children ride their bikes.

Shapiro was returning home from work when she found Julie Mulvaney outside the apartment, waiting for the police to arrive.

"It’s a horrific scene. It’s very gruesome," Buschow said.

The suicide/double homicide victims were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 5:54 p.m., authorities said..

Julie and James Mulvaney were married February 1992, separated in January 2008 and divorced in November 2008, but were in the process of settling custody and alimony and property issues in court. The mother had custody of Jason and Jennifer most of the time, with their father having overnight visitations.

Two chaplains, one from the Thousand Oaks Police Department and one from the Ventura County Fire Department, were dispatched to the scene to counsel and offer comfort to "the very distraught woman" and the first responders who were called to the murder scene, Buschow said.

Investigators and medical examiners worked through the night searching for evidence. They’re continuing to investigate, Bonfiglio said.

"It is very disturbing," Buschow said.

The Knolls is an upscale apartment complex built in 1992 with 544 units. The murders occurred in a three-bedroom, 1,237-square-foot unit that rents for $1,800 to $2,300 a month, said Rachael Weitz, apartment management staff member. Many of the apartments house families with children.

Wednesday evening, Conejo Valley Unified School District officials were notified of the deaths of two of the district’s students. Jason was a seventh-grader at Los Cerritos Middle School. Jennifer was in second grade at Lang Ranch Elementary School.

"Jason was a wonderful person, a high achiever, especially in math," said Jeff Davis, school district director of secondary education. It’s a difficult time for students and teachers, he said.

The district’s crisis team sent 18 professional counselors to the middle school and 10 to the elementary school to assist students, teachers and parents affected by the tragedy.

"Children will revisit the experiences they had with the (deceased) children, and that will bring up fear and grief as they grapple to deal with mortality," said Margaret Saleh, head of the district’s crisis team. Children steadily streamed into rooms set up for them to talk to counselors, said Saleh.

"We are on uncharted territory here. I never expected the crisis team to have to deal with such a tragedy," she said.

Hospice of the Conejo volunteered to send some of its counselors to assist with the district’s efforts, Saleh said.

Counselors were also sent to Ladera Elementary School because some of the children who live in the apartment complex attend that school instead of Lang Ranch, she said.

Judy MacDonald, 50, just moved into The Knolls. Her family recently came to Thousand Oaks from Connecticut.

The mother of two children, 10 and 12, said she’s had to explain to them what happened. They don’t attend public schools.

"I would’ve been scared if this had happened a couple of years ago, but now I know that this can happen anywhere," MacDonald said.

A memorial service for the children is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tues., Sept. 22 at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks in Glendale in the Christ Recession Church, 1712 South Glendale.