Father shoots his wife, five children & himself dead after being fired from hospital

[Piemu Esquire]

Just wondering whether you saw this article in an international paper just the other day.

Credit crunch massacre: Father shoots his wife, five children and himself dead after being fired from hospital job
By David Gardner
Last updated at 9:31 AM on 28th January 2009

A father massacred his five children – all aged under ten – and his wife today after being fired from his hospital job.

Police said the killings in a commuter suburb of Los Angeles, California, happened after the man cracked because of the ‘tough, economic times.’

He was said to be frantic over the difficulty of finding another job in the credit crunch after both he and his wife were axed over a row at work that may have involved child care issues.

Massacre: A family portrait of the Lupoe family - Ervin Lupoe has been identified as the father who shot dead himself and his whole family

Tragedy: The five Lupoe children were eight-year-old Brittney, centre, her five-year-old twin sisters Jaszmin and Jasseley, back, and two-year-old twin boys Benjamin and Christopher, front

The father was identified on Tuesday night as 40-year-old Ervin Lupoe. He and his wife both worked as medical technicians at the Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Centre.

The hospital is affiliated with the Kaiser Permanente hospital in Bellflower, California, where a woman gave birth to octuplets on Monday evening.

Police believe Lupoe may have started his killing spree as early as Monday night, the Los Angeles Times has reported, roaming from room to room.

Los Angeles County coroner workers take the body of one of the family members away in Wilmington last night

Police discovered the bodies of a eight-year-old Brittney, five-year-old twin girls Jaszmin and Jasseley, and their father in an upstairs room.

The bodies of Ana Lupoe and the couple's two-year-old twin boys, Benjamin and Christoper, were found in a bedroom nearby in the upscale home in Wilmington, California, at just after 8am on Tuesday.

Before the shootings Lupoe sent a two-page fax to a local TV station and called police saying he’d returned home to find his whole family has been shot dead.

But by the time officers had arrived at the house, the man had killed himself in the bedroom with his three daughters. His wife’s body was found with their two boys.

Community grief: Audelia Birucel, 38, who was visiting relatives in the neighbourhood, cries after learning of the Lupoe tragedy

The police help evacuate a family living next to the home where the shootings took place

The TV station that received the fax said the father claimed in his fax that his wife suggested they commit suicide and kill their children so they wouldn't end up with a stranger.

But the letter also referred to an investigation into employment misrepresentation in connection with a child care issue, the LA Times reported. The probe apparently involved allegations of fraud.

And astonishingly the letter contained a claim that a Kaiser supervisor had told Lupoe to shoot himself - an allegation the hospital flatly denied.

Investigation: Police at the scene of the shooting in a Los Angeles suburb

Lupoe also claimed the hospital did nothing to help the family, 'knowing we have no job and children under 8 years with no place to go.

'So after a horrendous ordeal,' the letter said, 'my wife felt it better to end our lives, and why leave our children in someone's else's hands...'

Lupoe conclued: 'Oh lord, my God, is there no hope for a widow's son?'

Never seen anything like it: Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner spoke to the press after police discovered the massacre

‘He was despondent, clearly, over his job situation,’ said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner.

‘This was a financial and job-related issue that led to the slayings.

‘In these tough economic times, there are other options. In my 32 years, I've never seen anything like this.

‘Obviously he wanted somebody to find the bodies. In the note, he clearly said he was going to kill himself, his wife and his kids,’ he added.

‘When officers entered, they smelled gunshot residue. We're operating off the premise it happened within minutes before officers got here.’

According to the faxed letter, he complained that a hospital administrator told him he should never have been hired and suggested he ‘blow his brains out.’

The man said he complained to his union but to no avail and then both he and his wife were sacked.

The TV station passed the fax on to police who were already on their way to the house after receiving an emergency call from the father.

Other notes found at the house south of Los Angeles confirmed it was a murder-suicide. A revolver was also found.

Support: Friends, family and neighbours attend a community meeting at a church after the shootings last night.The LAPD conducted the meeting to let residents know there are support networks in place for families facing tough times

Pictures on Ervin Lupoe's Facebook profile show his children grinning happily at the camera for family photos

Co-workers and relatives described the couple as hard-working but happy, and as parents who cared deeply about their children.

'I do know he loved children because he said so,' Lupoe's grandmother Josephine Lupoe, 83, told the LA Times.

'Every time I called him, he was at work,' she added. 'He worked all the time.'

Lupoe had been at the West Los Angeles hospital for about ten years.

'We saw him happy," said emergency services employee Vic Tuvera, 58. 'I knew him as a good person and a good worker.'

Credit crunch killing: A Los Angeles police investigator leaves the home where the family of seven were found shot dead

His wife Ana, a medical technician, was remembered as 'a sweet lady. Always smiling with everybody... always talking about the kids,' said Hamlet Narvaez, 40, a Kaiser transportation worker.

The only hint of trouble came during their time living in LA, when Lupoe had to seek a restraining order after a confrontation with a neighbour. Few details are known about the incident, however.

The couple had been let go about two weeks before the shootings. The headmistress at Crescent Heights Elementary School, where the older three children were pupils, told media that Lupoe showed up around then to inform her that the family were moving to Kansas.

Headmistress Cherise Pounders-Caver also said she had gotten to know the family well over the three years the children had been attending the school - and had seen no indication of problems.

Instead, she said, the couple were 'very caring about the education of their children' and joined in a December program at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood against community violence.

I picked 3 comments which I thought I should highlight but would want to know your thoughts about them.

Comment 1

This is a tragic story. Unless you have been faced with a situation where you have lost your job instantly you cannot understand or imagine the utter despair or desperate feelings that the individuals may have. A few years ago I worked as a contractor, on a generous daily rate. I was called into the office out of the blue and told I was being 'let go'. My mind went into free fall. I had no idea how I would pay the mortgage, school fees, or anything. Driving home I felt like driving into the Thames everything seemed pointless. I screamed in pain at not knowing what to do next. Fortunately, survivial instinct kicked in and four months later I landed a better job than the one I had lost. I don't see this story as an selfish act. It is because he loved them so much he didn't want them to suffer. All I can say is you really have to live it to understand how fragile the mind is when you are faced with despair.

Comment 2

This is the saddest news to wake up to. God Bless you all. What a beautiful family and now they have gone to heaven. No matter how hard times may be, never lose your faith in the LORD. Prayer is the key. I work for Kaiser and I have never experienced anything like this, if what the letter says is true, I pray that the manager is brought to justice. Sometimes our words have a greater affect on a person that we may ever know. If you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all. GOD BLESS THE WORLD!


- melanie, wilmington, ca, 28/1/2009 1:21

Comment 3

He thinks they have it bad he should have spent a couple of days over here. I used to live in LA and they live like GODS for the same money we need just to scrape by.