California Man Kills Five Children, Wife, & Himself After Job Loss (Photos/Video)

Posted on January 28, 2009

Investigators say a California man, Ervin Lupoe, shot and killed his wife and five children before turning the gun on himself. Read more on the tragic story below.

Officers said they found the seven bodies in the family’s Wilmington home Tuesday morning after receiving a call from a TV station.

Police say Ervin Lupoe had faxed a letter to KABC saying he and his wife had been fired from their jobs at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, and both had planned the killings together.

“I can’t state enough, it’s a family tragedy and it’s our worst fear in these tough times – having people who don’t see any alternative, finding a way out of financial problems or job problems,” said Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The principal of the school where Lupoe’s children attended said the father had pulled three of his kids from their classes about a week and a half ago saying the family was moving to Kansas.

Police rushed to the home after being notified of the note and discovered the bodies and the smell of gunshot residue still in the air.

This makes the fifth mass death of a Southern California family by murder or suicide in a year.

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