Robin Kaye, a music executive who worked on 'American Idol', and her husband Thomas DeLuc were found dead in their Los Angeles home days after attending a police meeting about a rise in local crime. The couple had reportedly met with officers on July 9, the night before they were killed, to discuss recent break-ins in their Encino neighbourhood.
Josh Sautter, president of the Encino Neighborhood Council, told People that the couple attended a police advisory meeting where LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell addressed a spike in burglaries. At a previous meeting on June 25, Kaye had described a home invasion at her own property, saying: 'Just a few weeks ago, we had our own home invasion, as we were sleeping. They broke in, climbed our wall, smashed through our kitchen door... it was scary.'
On July 10, a man later identified as Raymond Boodarian, 22, was seen scaling a wall outside the couple's home. Police conducted a helicopter search but left after two minutes without finding anything. About 40 minutes later, a 911 call came from inside the house; the caller, believed to be Boodarian, said 'Please don't shoot me' before the line disconnected. Another helicopter sweep found nothing.
Four days later, police conducting a welfare check broke a window to enter and discovered Kaye and DeLuc dead. Authorities believe Boodarian fatally shot them in separate rooms. Neighbours expressed outrage, saying this was the third recent incident where police left a scene without entering, only to later find a murder. However, security consultant Kris Herzog, hired by Kaye in May, said LAPD policy prohibits entry without clear probable cause.
Boodarian was arrested within 24 hours of the bodies being found and charged with two counts of murder and one count of residential burglary on July 17. His arraignment is scheduled for August 20.
