CA - Armie, 89, & Shirley Isom, 74, murdered at their La Verne estate, 26 Dec 2014

[OkieGranny]

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/12/28/investigation-continues-in-la-verne-double-homicide/

Deputies explained they were sent around 1:25 p.m. Friday to a home located in a gated community in the 300 block of Roughrider Road for report of an unresponsive couple.

Once on scene, deputies located two victims suffering, from what was initially reported as stab wounds, near the entrance of their home. The groundskeeper reportedly found the couple, officials said.

Authorities pronounced one of the victims, Shirley Isom, 74, dead at the scene. Her husband, Armie Isom, 89, was transported to a hospital in critical condition, where he later died. The coroner’s office reported on Saturday that the Isoms died as a result of blunt-force trauma.

http://readingeagle.com/ap/article/authorities-probe-fatal-attack-on-elderly-couple-in-la-area

The search for evidence was expected to extend into Saturday night, given the massive size of the property.

A “no trespassing” sign was posted on a tree and a Mitt Romney campaign banner hung across an entry gate to the long driveway leading up a hill to the 5,200-square-foot house. Trailers, vehicles and other equipment from the family’s construction business were scattered around the lower half of the property. Above the house lies a vast hillside criss-crossed by dirt roads and dotted with patches of forest.

The attack occurred inside and outside the house, though its chronology remains unclear, Coleman said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/elderly-california-couple-killed-home-article-1.2058681

Police have said they do not have a suspect, but many neighbors told local media they say a transient man in the community and thought he seemed out of place.

Jose Tamayo, a gardener who was working nearby, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune he saw the man exit the property minutes before the bodies were discovered. He was wearing a green jacket with a hood, a baseball cap and jeans. Tamayo said he picked up a backpack from the nearby bushes, put it on and walked away.

Neighbor Don Mineer told the newspaper he saw the man walking down the road. "He wasn't hurrying, but he wasn't wasting a lot of time," Mineer said.

 

[charminglane]

My brother and his family live in LaVerne.
When I saw this yesterday I called to make sure it wasn't him!

Prayers to this poor couple.
You live to be 89 and then you're murdered at your own home.
This world. I just don't understand it.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Thanks for posting this OkieGranny....I've been following this case and hope they find the perp asap. another tragic slaying of a older, retired couple, Geez it's becoming all too common of an occurrence.

 

[OkieGranny]

I'm not sure this was simply a random burglary gone wrong. Maybe it was, but my hinky meter is hovering in the yellow zone at this point.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Hmmmmm......

 

[OkieGranny]

You know, just mapping the winding route it takes to reach the Isoms' home, wondering how much eighty acres of Los Angeles County real estate is worth, stuff like that.

 

[charminglane]

You know, just mapping the winding route it takes to reach the Isoms' home, wondering how much eighty acres of Los Angeles County real estate is worth, stuff like that.

Tons.

 

[AskMeNoQuestions]

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014...-verne-couple-received-threats-before-deaths/

expected twist?

 

[OkieGranny]

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014...-verne-couple-received-threats-before-deaths/

expected twist?

Yep, pretty much. From your link:

A source with close ties to the family of Armie and Shirley Isom claims the slain couple received threats just weeks before their deaths.

The unidentified source told KCAL9’s Tom Wait the threats allegedly came from other relatives who wanted a piece of the Isoms’ fortune...

Newly obtained court documents obtained by CBS2 also show that the family was fending off multiple lawsuits from a former in-law.

 

[Soulmagent]

I Dont what to think yet.

Unidentified sources kinda spook me. Mr Isom had a construction company and was a real estate investor. Seem alot of people could have motives .


https://www.google.com/maps/place/350+Roughrider+Rd,+La+Verne,+CA+91750/@34.1284739,-117.7700752,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c32fea6423fd25:0x27590a0bc41ef660

 

[Mrs G Norris]

I'm not sure this was simply a random burglary gone wrong. Maybe it was, but my hinky meter is hovering in the yellow zone at this point.

Agree, I very much doubt this so called transient man had anything to do with it, my bet the culprit will be a LOT closer to home, especially with a beating.

"A source with close ties to the family of Armie and Shirley Isom claims the slain couple received threats just weeks before their deaths."

I'd be looking at this source first if I was LE unless these 'threats' were actually reported to police by the couple.

ETA: "The unidentified source told KCAL9’s Tom Wait the threats allegedly came from other relatives who wanted a piece of the Isoms’ fortune."

Gotta love christmas time ..

 

[Charlie09]

Agree, I very much doubt this so called transient man had anything to do with it, my bet the culprit will be a LOT closer to home, especially with a beating.

"A source with close ties to the family of Armie and Shirley Isom claims the slain couple received threats just weeks before their deaths."

I'd be looking at this source first if I was LE unless these 'threats' were actually reported to police by the couple.

ETA: "The unidentified source told KCAL9’s Tom Wait the threats allegedly came from other relatives who wanted a piece of the Isoms’ fortune."

Gotta love christmas time ..

The night this happened-or maybe it was the next day, the news was talking to neighbors, several people were talking about the transient looking man - (not saying it was or wasn't an actual relative or former inlaw) but the person definitely didn't seem to fit into the area.

 

[tlcya]

subscribing the lazy way. This shapes up to be an interesting investigation. very sad that these folks were so brutally murdered. And in a place that should have been the safest in the world for them, their own home.

 

[Soulmagent]

Link drop.

http://www.city-data.com/los-angeles-county/S/Saddle-Horn-Lane-1.html

http://www.city-data.com/los-angeles-county/B/Broken-Spur-Road-1.html

 

[Leomoon80]

geesh, with inlaws like this, who needs enemies?

 

[Mrs G Norris]

geesh, with inlaws like this, who needs enemies?

My husbands side of the family is banned from visiting us here this christmas after they showed up last year wanting to know the value of the property, what the plantation was worth, did nothing but read real estate pamphlets, and enquired about a recent sale across the road, when the husband told us he thought my mother in law looked frail and should move in with them she's the one who ended up snapping and sent them packing. It's horrible when family members start circling older members for real estate, I hope that's not what happened here

 

[OkieGranny]

Someone asked for a map? Or did I just imagine that?

 

[Mrs G Norris]

So is that their acerage sitting on the edge of a housing development?

Primed for sub-division.

They could have made a fortune if they had enough to invest in the infrastructure which would have been a simple matter of a bank loan.

Not surprised the vultures were circling

 

[Mrs G Norris]

You know .. this is pretty detailed, if true surely the other homes in the area have CCTV out the front and could possibly verify ..

Jose Tamayo, a gardener who was working nearby, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune he saw the man exit the property minutes before the bodies were discovered.
He was wearing a green jacket with a hood, a baseball cap and jeans. Tamayo said he picked up a backpack from the nearby bushes, put it on and walked away.
Neighbor Don Mineer told the newspaper he saw the man walking down the road.

"He wasn't hurrying, but he wasn't wasting a lot of time," Mineer said. "Now that I think about it, he looked like he was trying to be inconspicuous."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/elderly-california-couple-killed-home-article-1.2058681

I only say IF because sometimes someone says they saw something, then someone else agrees, and before you know it several people saw something, when in reality the first person had made a false claim, thinking of the Leila Fowler case.

 

[tlcya]

That would appear to be some prime real estate.