Las Vegas woman, son, family dog dead near LA in murder-suicide
A Las Vegas woman was found dead Thursday night in her relative’s home near Los Angeles after her son shot her, the family dog and then turned the gun on himself, police said.
Officers were called to a home in Simi Valley, a city about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, about 6:55 p.m. Thursday after a man returned home from work to find a woman lying in his kitchen in “a pool of blood,” according to a Facebook post from the Simi Valley Police Department.
https://www.facebook.com/SimiValleyPD/posts/2534062896651806?__xts__[0]=68.ARCw629JUg9ebDmUcilr5CydIx1mtjTXAbuN4QozejWK6aUNmtS7etVKWdg80Z-gBf3Ev1GMZJSVSlzSW10uqindP4MdkKzYMb0u4aUFlOOw5FZMQarhWDV9kqoG29vxidMhnMJO8-_mmP3R4ncN_mJrRcnLWo4mTlTvDrK7EDjSgwpiabCl0nbmDxqibrhGLOMm5B19KWzN4KIccJzRjjzzBQ5DvJMCRZD4ZR7ToHCJDZAadm80hS0njR_s_-ufZ5aM-b5XGeHCivnbwPV8C5ZnVtcc4L_ckLgQ5wfUUNjGYmZJtwQnBO8vs194pyLtcdd6TgskQ8kXey8MPQhoECQD7w&__tn__=-R
Police said it appeared the woman, 58-year-old Esperanza Cullen, of Las Vegas, was shot by her son, 33-year-old Michael Cullen, during an argument. Michael Cullen lived in the house with his aunt and uncle, police said.
When officers arrived at the home, they found a message on Michael Cullen’s door reading “bomb inside don’t open explosion,” police said. No bomb was found in the home.
Michael Cullen was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his room. The family dog had also been shot and killed, police said.
It was unclear what started the fight between the Las Vegas woman and her son. Further information was not immediately available.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
