The suspect accused of killing an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband in their Los Angeles home allegedly used the couple’s own gun in the murders and called police, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Raymond Boodarian, 22, allegedly killed Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca, both 70, on July 10 after the couple returned to their Encino home while he was burglarizing the residence, officials said. The couple was found dead last Monday after police conducted a welfare check and found blood at the door, according to Los Angeles police.
Hochman shared the update about the suspect and alleged murder weapon during a public safety meeting hosted by the Encino Neighborhood Council to discuss the incident on Monday night.
Over 100 concerned Encino residents attended the meeting to demand answers as to why Boodarian was out on the streets, despite being jailed last year on suspicion of battery, displaying a weapon and making threats, Encino Neighborhood Council President Josh Sautter told NBC News
A judge dismissed the case in December after hearings concerning Boodarian’s mental health, NBC Los Angeles reported.
At the meeting, Hochman said Boodarian was arrested the day after the couple’s bodies were found.
“Mr. Boodarian got caught because he used his cell phone to contact police concerning the situation, actually identified himself by name,” Hochman said during the meeting. “Police were able to ping the cell phone, find out where he lived, go to his residence and arrest him.”
Hochman also said investigators found the gun used in the double murder, and that it did not belong to Boodarian.
“It was Robyn and Tom’s gun,” he said. “It wasn’t his gun. It was exceptionally tragic.”
Boodarian is believed to have entered the couple’s home at around 4 p.m. through an unlocked door on July 10, according to officials. Kaye and Deluca returned home from the grocery store and found Boodarian there, prosecutors said.
“In a matter of moments, this couple was senselessly killed in their own home as they returned from the grocery store,” Hochman said in a statement issued last week.
Police were called to the couple’s home on the same day for a report of a possible burglary, but officers did not see any evidence of a crime, the police department said last week. Their bodies were found last Monday after someone requested a welfare check after not hearing from one of the residents for several days, police said.
Kaye had been working for “American Idol” since 2009, according to a spokesperson for the show. Sautter, who met Kaye after she contacted the neighborhood council regarding a safety issue concerning a house next door, said she was “so full of joy and gratitude.”
“You could feel her joy for life,” Sautter said.
Boodarian was arrested last Tuesday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary,…
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