Man arrested in slayings of veteran 'American Idol' music supervisor Robin Kaye and husband in Encino
The couple are believed to have been killed after walking in on the suspect inside their $4.5-million Encino home, which is heavily secured, with a large wall and security cameras, law enforcement sources told The Times on Tuesday afternoon. They were found in separate rooms in the house.
The killings appeared to be random, the sources said, with no connection between the victims and the suspect.
Officers responded Monday around 2:30 p.m. to a welfare check in the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue where they discovered two people inside the home, according to Los Angeles Police Department Det. Meghan Aguilar. Paramedics responded and declared them dead at the scene. Kaye and Deluca, the owners of the home, were both 70.
Read more: Police search for link between fatal shooting of man, woman in Montebello
Hours earlier, around midnight, police had received reports of gunshots at the house, police said. But LAPD officials on Tuesday morning could not provide any details about how officers responded to that initial report.
Homicide investigators identified the suspect as Raymond Boodarian, 22, who resided in Encino.
Boodarian was apprehended without incident by officers with Operations-Valley Bureau Homicide working with the Gang and Narcotics Division and the FBI Fugitive Task Force, sources said. Investigators were attempting to confirm whether Boodarian had any connection to Deluca and Kaye, and if Boodarian was involved in any past calls for service at the White Oak Avenue residence.
In a statement shared with The Times on Tuesday a spokesperson for "American Idol" said the team behind the singing competition was "devastated" by news of the couple's deaths and remembered Kaye as "a cornerstone of the 'Idol' family."
The statement continued: "[Kaye] was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her. Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time."
Read more: Ex-MLB pitcher Dan Serafini found guilty of murder: 'It's been four years of hell'
The identities of the two victims, whom KTLA said had been shot in the head, were not disclosed until late Tuesday morning. TMZ was first to report the deaths of Kaye and Deluca, citing law enforcement sources.
Kaye notably served as a music producer for "American Idol" from 2009 to 2023, working on nearly 300 episodes, according to IMDb. Her credits also include several "Miss Universe" TV specials, numerous NAACP Image Awards ceremonies, "The Singing Bee" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Deluca was a singer-songwriter best known for his 1986 album "Down to the Wire." His most recent release was the album "Street Rock," which came out in 2022.
The suspect in their slayings has a history of alleged criminal offenses, according to court records, including charges of battery, exhibiting a deadly weapon and threatening to commit a crime with the intent to terrorize. Charges were later dismissed following hearings related to mental competency and a conservatorship.
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Office cleaner describes coming face-to-face with Manhattan shooting suspect
On Monday afternoon, Sebije Nelovic, a cleaner at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, began her daily sweep of the glassy high-rise building where she has worked for 27 years. Two hours into her shift, as she was at work on the 33rd floor, came the sound of gunshots. In a lengthy statement shared by the 32BJ Service Employees International Union on Thursday, 65-year-old Nelovic described coming face-to-face with Shane Devon Tamura, the 27-year-old gunman who authorities say entered the office tower shortly before 6:30 p.m., armed with a high-powered AR-15-style rifle, and killed four people, including an off-duty New York City police officer. MORE: Manhattan mass shooting suspect Shane Tamura's Las Vegas activities investigated When Nelovic heard the sound of the gunshots on the 33rd floor, she said she left the office she was cleaning and turned the corner where she could see the glass door by the reception desk. "Suddenly, the glass door was shaking. It started falling down – boom. And this guy came in the middle of the door, and pointed his gun at me," she said in the statement. "He started shooting around me. I put my hands up and said, 'I'm a cleaning lady. I'm a cleaning lady.'" Then Nelovic ran, she said in the statement. She found a closet and locked herself inside. "I started praying," she said, as she heard the shooting continue. "He shot the door to the closet, and I was so scared." MORE: Manhattan shooting victims: NYPD officer, Blackstone executive among the 4 killed While hiding in the closet, Nelovic said she texted with her supervisor, but then, afraid that any noise could give away her position, she powered off her cellphone. For two to three long hours, she said she sat in silence and prayed. When the gunfire finally ceased, Nelovic said she thought about Julia Hyman, the 27-year-old associate at Rudin Management, who she knew was scheduled to be at her desk that evening on the 33rd floor. Later on Monday night, Nelovic returned to her Queens home, and surrounded by family, she turned on the television. "I had to see what happened and why," she said. "That's how I found out about Julia." Police said Hyman was the last person Kamura shot and killed before taking his own life. Investigators say they are continuing to look for a motive, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams said it appears Tamura, a former high school football player, was attempting to target the headquarters of the National Football League, located in the 345 Park Ave. building but took the wrong elevator and ended up in the 33rd-floor office of Rudin Management. In a note found in Tamura's pocket in the aftermath of the attack, the suspect claimed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to repeated hits to the head, often seen in military veterans and athletes, including football players, hockey players and boxers, sources told ABC News. In the note, Tamura asked that his brain be studied, sources said. It remains unknown if Tamura suffered from CTE, which can't be diagnosed in a living person with certainty, though doctors may suspect it based on symptoms and a history of head trauma.
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NYC shooting victim Wesley LePatner remembered as lifting all she knew: ‘Your mother's an angel'
NEW YORK — While juggling the balance of a busy home life and a corporate job, New York City shooting victim Wesley LePatner was adamant about getting home in time to spend evenings with her husband Evan and their kids. 'That was nonnegotiable,' a longtime colleague said. It was, then, shocking to friends and family that LePatner, a Blackstone investment executive, was among the first people shot to death when a gunman stormed a Manhattan office tower on Park Avenue Monday evening and opened fire in the lobby and an upper floor, killing four people. 'How many of us thought that surely Wesley was safe,' the colleague said Thursday at a crowded funeral for the LePatner, 43. 'She was never in the office at 6:30. She was with her kids. Always.' Friends, family and co-workers filled Manhattan's Central Synagogue on East 55th Street Thursday where they traded stories about how LePatner mixed her professional drive with a personal touch highlighted by care and compassion. The 5-foot tall dynamo — friends said she insisted she was 5-foot-1 — was a giant among her peers, who said LePatner always saw the best in everyone. 'She led with her mind and heart,' said Chris Lee, a former colleague at Goldman Sachs, where LePatner got her start. 'She didn't just show up for you. She lifted you. She wasn't just on your team. She was your biggest fan.' Lee, a partner at KKR Real Estate in Manhattan, recalled how his friend struggled with her decision when she got an offer to move to Blackstone. 'She wasn't sure, talking about work-life balance,' Lee said. 'It was one of those aggressive pep talks that people have with each other. I said, 'If you don't accept this job by Friday, I'm calling Evan.' It's great to have someone you can have a relationship like that with.' Lee said that he and LePatner were brutally honest with each other. 'She was more than a friend. She was a blessing,' Lee said to LePatner's children. 'Your mother's an angel. You know that. And so does everyone in this room. She's with us right now, smiling proud, rooting for us, maybe critiquing our speeches, but loving us.' Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt said LePatner, a Yale University graduate, lifted everyone around her, and set an example for women — and men — in the workplace. 'In order to empower others you need to possess power yourself,' Goldschmidt said. 'Wesley knew she was a rock star.' LePatner was a graduate of Horace Mann High School who met her husband on their first day at Yale University, according to their wedding announcement in The New York Times. She served on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, the UJA-Federation of New York and the Yale University Library Council. She was also a trustee of the all-girls Hewitt School on the Upper East Side. A day earlier, mourners filled the same synagogue for Julia Hyman's rites. LePatner, a personal friend of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Hyman, 27, a Cornell graduate who worked as an associate for Rudin Management, were killed along with security guard Aland Etienne and NYPD Officer Didarul Islam. Hyman was the first victim laid to rest in the days after gunman Shane Tamara, 27, stormed the Park Avenue skyscraper, killed four people, and took his own life. Islam, whose funeral was also held Thursday, was working a paid security detail at the East Midtown office building on his day off when Tamura, who was openly carrying an assault weapon, walked into the lobby and opened fire in what has become New York City's deadliest shooting in decades. 'We are experiencing an enormous, gaping hole in our hearts that will never be filled,' LePatner's family said in a statement. 'Yet we will carry on the remarkable legacy Wesley created.' _____
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Fox News
NFL's Roger Goodell condemns 'senseless' NYC shooting, calls it 'an attack on our way of life'
As one can understand, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was emotional discussing the tragic mass shooting at the league's headquarters in New York City that left four dead on Monday night. Goodell made an appearance on NBC ahead of the NFL Hall of Fame Game, which kicks off the 2025 season in Canton, Ohio. Speaking with Mike Tirico, Goodell condemned the "senseless" act of violence that also left an NFL employee "seriously injured." "There's no excuses for these senseless acts," Goodell said. "They're hard on all of us to understand. It inflicts pain on people you know and people you care about and people you deal with on a daily basis. That's particularly hard. "But, as you know, these acts of senseless violence and hatred are happening around our country and world too often – in schools, in churches, in synagogues, in places that this should just not be happening. We all have to continue to be vigilant and continue to protect ourselves and the NFL's going to continue to do that with our employees and our people." Goodell specifically began getting choked up when talking about the "outpouring of support" everyone from government officials, to teams and coaches, have been giving the league in this difficult time. But Goodell made sure to point out that this didn't just affect the league – it's much more than that. "Remember this attack is far more than on several individuals. This is an attack on our humanity, this is an attack on our community, this is an attack on New York, this is an attack on our way of life," he said. "All of us have to do more, and make sure we're doing everything to get help to people who need help. And also, taking necessary precautions. I assure you our employees are going to work hard." Goodell was among those who attended the funeral of fallen NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who died after 27-year-old Shane Tamura unleashed a barrage of bullets in the lobby at 345 Park Avenue. Tamura ultimately took his own life on the building's 33rd floor. "Someone we see outside the building almost every day," Goodell said as he held back his emotions. "It hits home the loss, the unnecessary and unexplainable loss. It's something that all of us as New Yorkers feel a great pride in the NYPD and all that they do and all the first responders. It's was a difficult, emotional afternoon. But also a tremendous heartwarming service for him." As for the NFL employee who was injured in the shooting, Goodell said that he visited with him for about an hour on Thursday. He's improving in the hospital and surrounded by the ones he loves. "An amazing young man, so we're optimistic for his recovery and I think that's good news for all of us in the NFL and obviously our hearts continue to be in support of his family," Goodell said. "He has a young family, and [I] had a chance to meet his brother, parents and I think it's something that is really hard for all of us to understand and to deal with." New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed on FOX 5 NY "Good Day New York" that Tamura was targeting the NFL when he showed up to the midtown Manhattan office building, which also served as a place of work for other companies including investment firm Blackstone and Rudin Management. Tamura reportedly had a grievance with the NFL, alluding to the sport of football giving him chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a side affect of repeated hits to the head. Adams said Tamura took the wrong elevator bank inside the building after attacking those in the lobby. Goodell was in contact with all league employees starting Monday night, where he revealed that a staffer was injured in the shooting. He sent another memo saying that all New York City-based workers should be remote at least through next week. It's a trying time for many, including all those at the NFL, but Goodell knows that sports can sometimes serve as healing. "We do believe the NFL brings people together, and we are going to continue that," he said. "We are going to be lifted by our own efforts to bring the National Football League to our fans. It's something that I think our employees take great pride in, and that's why those folks are there tonight beginning that process of making sure people can enjoying the National Football League. We're going to put our employees as our primary focus, but we think we can also bring our country together around our game. "We're going to carry on. Maybe with broken hearts, but we will carry on."
