Capt.: Dad kills 2 kids, kills himself with drugs

The Associated Press
Posted: 09/17/2009 07:02:51 AM PDT
Updated: 09/17/2009 06:23:46 PM PDT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—A man described by neighbors as a devoted father stabbed to death his two children and then killed himself with a drug overdose in the midst of a custody battle, Ventura County authorities said Thursday.

Their mother found Jennifer Mulvaney, 7, and Jason Mulvaney, 12, stabbed to death at her ex-husband's apartment Wednesday evening, Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said.

She also found the body of James Mulvaney, 52. "We believe it is a murder-suicide," Bonfiglio said. "We believe that he killed his children late night Tuesday, early Wednesday morning and then didn't commit the suicide until several hours later, until the afternoon on Wednesday." The county medical examiner's office issued a preliminary conclusion that Mulvaney died from an overdose of a prescription drug but it was unclear whether he had taken any drugs before killing the children, Bonfiglio said.
He did not know the type of drug involved.

The bodies were found by Mulvaney's ex-wife, who went to the apartment to check on the children at around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. She had dropped off the children at his house at about 4 p.m. Tuesday but then became concerned when they failed to show up at an expected event, perhaps a sports practice, Bonfiglio said. She went to the management and then to Mulvaney's apartment. She found the door unlocked "and then walked into that horror scene," the captain said.

Neighbor Bonnie Shapiro found Mulvaney's ex-wife outside the apartment Wednesday just after she'd discovered the bodies.
"I came home to the mom...outside screaming on the phone to 911...that she'd found the kids and ex-husband dead inside," Shapiro said. "You don't ever think you're going to come home to that, or be a part of someone's nightmare like that," she added. The children had been stabbed several times and were in their bedrooms, while Mulvaney's body was in the living room,

Bonfiglio said. A large knife was recovered by authorities along with bottles of medication, Bonfiglio said. Bonfiglio said no suicide note was found and no correspondence was found on Mulvaney's computer that indicated he was planning violence. "There was some sort of bitter custody battle going on and they are recently divorced," he said. "It certainly appears that that came into play." However, the captain added, "there didn't appear to be any long history of violence between him and the ex-wife and it was an out-of-character situation."

"We may never know exactly why he snapped because we can't get inside his head and he certainly didn't leave any documentation about what he was going to do," Bonfiglio said. "It wasn't like he just got off the phone and had a heated argument with her," he added. Mulvaney's wife, Julie Mulvaney, filed for divorce in February 2008, according to court records cited by the Ventura County Star.

Records also showed that the father took a "positive parenting" class last December. Mulvaney was a bank manager but had lost his job, Bonfiglio said. He did not have details.

The Ventura County Star reported that Mulvaney had been branch manager at a Citibank in Camarillo. The newspaper said Brian Tabachnick, a senior vice president with the company, declined to say how long he was employed or under what circumstances he left.

Jason Mulvaney attended Los Cerritos Middle School in Thousand Oaks, where Principal Elly Love told students Thursday morning that the boy was killed by his father. Counselors and school psychologists were on campus through the day.
Neighbors at The Knolls apartment complex said Mulvaney had lived there for six to eight months and described Mulvaney as a devoted father who always watched his children when they played outside. "I don't really understand how would you kill your own, you know, somebody that shares your own blood. It's awful," Angelica Kope, holding her baby in her arms, told KABC-TV.