Welfare check leads to grim discovery, no ongoing public threat reported.
Two people were found dead Saturday morning inside a Santa Monica apartment during a welfare check, and investigators are treating the case as a suspected murder-suicide, authorities said.
Officers with the Santa Monica Police Department responded around 7:15 a.m. Feb. 7 to a residential complex in the 1900 block of Ocean Avenue after a family member reported being unable to reach the occupants for several days.
With assistance from building management, officers entered the unit after receiving no response. Inside, they discovered the bodies of a 54-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman. Both had apparent gunshot wounds, and a firearm was recovered from the residence. Police said the individuals were in an advanced state of decomposition.
Detectives from the department’s Criminal Investigations Division are leading the inquiry. Based on preliminary findings, investigators believe the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide. Authorities said the two individuals were known to each other and that no additional suspects are being sought.
Police described the incident as isolated and said there is no ongoing threat to the public.
The names of the deceased are being withheld pending official identification and notification of next of kin by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Detective Esteban Hernandez at esteban.hernandez@santamonica.gov or call the Santa Monica Police Department Watch Commander at 310-458-8427.
