Detectives Probe Double-Homicide In La Verne
LA VERNE (CBSLA.com) — A husband and wife have died after being attacked inside their La Verne home and authorities say the assailant remains at large.
Police were dispatched to a large hilltop home in a gated community in the 300 block of Roughrider Road about 1:25 p.m. following a report of an unresponsive couple.
When they arrived, they located two victims.
Initial reports indicated the couple had sustained stab wounds; however, deputies have since said that the cause of death has not been determined.
One of the victims was identified as 74-year-old Shirley Isom and was pronounced dead at the scene. The second, 89-year-old Armie Isom, was transported to the hospital in critical condition but later died.
The victims were described as a married couple and were reportedly found by the groundskeeper near the entrance of the house. Both had sustained blunt force trauma, reported KCAL9's Brittney Hopper.
After the incident, deputies established a perimeter in search of the suspect whom detectives said was last seen wearing a backpack and walking eastbound.
"Older couple. They've lived here for quite some time," Tim Silva said of the victims. Silva has lived in the area for nine years and said he knew of one daughter the couple had who also lived in the area.
Robert Mason, who has lived next door to the Isoms for years, described them as "friendly and quiet." He said Mr. Isom was a very successful contractor who owned a lot of property, and a construction company.
"It's sad to believe that anything like that could happen here," Mason said.
Mason said, prior to the killings, he saw a man with a large duffel bag walking through the neighborhood.
"When I was going down, I turned around to look and see what was going on and I couldn't see anything cause he had a hoodie on," he said.
Other neighbors, like Laurie Guzzy, recall seeing the same suspicious person.
"He didn't look like a backpacker but had on a backpack. I told the sheriff, 'This is what I saw' and she said, 'Mmmhmm, yeah,'" Guzzy said.
No arrests have been made and a motive has not been established.
Anyone with more information about this crime was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.