JASON and JENNIFER MULVANEY - 12 and 7 yo - Thousand Oaks CA

A woman discovered her ex-husband and their two children dead in a
Thousand Oaks apartment in an apparent homicide Wednesday evening,
authorities said.

The bodies were found in an apartment in The Knolls apartment
complex in the 2700 block of White Ridge Place, Detective Eric Buschow
of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.

The man, along with the boy and girl, believed to be 12 and 7
respectively, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 5:54
p.m., Buschow said. Authorities were not releasing their identities
Wednesday night.

Investigators planned to work into the night, searching for evidence
in the first-floor apartment in the upscale, 544-unit, Spanish-style
complex in northern Thousand Oaks.

“It’s a really disturbing scene,” Buschow said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

The mother, whom Buschow described as extremely distraught, was
interviewed by investigators, who were releasing few details about what
had occurred.

“Right now, we have three homicide victims in there until we know
otherwise,” he said. “We have no reason to believe there is a suspect
on the loose or outstanding in the area.”

Neighbors in the complex said the man was a devoted father, who took
his children to school and the complex’s pool. The father had lived in
The Knolls for six to eight months, neighbors said, adding they usually
saw him every day but rarely in the past four or five days.

Sepi Karandish has lived in The Knolls for almost a year and had
seen the man around the complex, though she did not know him.
Karandish, who lives with her daughter, said the deaths made her a
little afraid.

“We all do our regular things. It is a safe neighborhood to live in,” she said.

“I am absolutely blown away,” Jason White said. “This is a very
relaxed, very quiet, family-oriented, high-rent district. It’s an
extremely safe area. The neighbors look out for each other. At worse
it’s a random occurrence.”

White, who moved into the complex about a year ago, had stepped
outside to smoke a cigarette around 6 p.m. when a neighbor told him
something was going on. White discovered the area surrounding the
victim’s apartment roped off, with dozens of law enforcement,
paramedics, crime scene investigators and the Sheriff’s Department’s
mobile command unit on hand.

Phillip Browne, who also lives in the complex, said he arrived home
around 6:15 p.m. to discover the crime scene and a crowd of about 50
people gathered around.

“You know this is a very unusual kind of situation for the east county,” Browne said.

Mary Schneider moved into The Knolls shortly after the complex was
built in 1992. Schneider said that the crime in the complex is usually
limited to car break-ins. Nine and a half years ago, an elderly man
shot his wife and then himself apparently because of financial
troubles. Their bodies were discovered in their apartment in The Knolls.

“I’m really shocked,” Schneider said. “Nothing this bad has ever happened here before.”

The deaths of a father and his two children at an apartment may have been a murder-suicide, authorities said Thursday.Their
mother found Jennifer Mulvaney, 7, and Jason Mulvaney, 12, stabbed to
death when she went to pick them up from her ex-husband's apartment
Wednesday evening, Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said.She also found the body of James Mulvaney, 52.

The children had been stabbed several times, Bonfiglio said.The
father's body showed no obvious signs of trauma to indicate the cause
of his death. Drugs or asphyxiation have not been ruled out, Bonfiglio
said.Autopsies were planned Thursday.Detectives were
still investigating the killings but no suspects were being sought and
the "highest probability" was that Mulvaney killed the children and
committed suicide, Bonfiglio said.He said the Mulvaneys were
divorced and had been involved in a child custody case that was
"possibly heated," but he did not immediately have any details.Mulvaney's
wife, Julie Mulvaney, filed for divorce in February 2008, according to
court records cited by the Ventura County Star.Records also showed that the father took a "positive parenting" class last December.Jason
Mulvaney attended Los Cerritos Middle School in Thousand Oaks, where
Principal Elly Love told students Thursday morning that the boy was
killed by his father.Counselors and school psychologists were on campus through the day.Neighbors
at The Knolls apartment complex said Mulvaney had lived there for six
to eight months and described Mulvaney as a devoted father who always
watched his children when they played outside."I don't really
understand how would you kill your own, you know, somebody that shares
your own blood. It's awful," Angelica Kope, holding her baby in her
arms, told KABC-TV.

A man who fatally stabbed his two children before committing suicide had lost his job two weeks ago, according to authorities.

Ventura County officials say 52-year-old James Mulvaney died of a drug
overdose several hours after stabbing his two children to death.

Sheriff's Capt. Ross Bonfiglio say Mulvaney killed 7-year-old Jennifer
and 12-year-old Jason sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Both children had multiple stab wounds.

Investigators believe Mulvaney might have killed the children while they were asleep, Bonfiglio said.

Mulvaney killed himself sometime Wednesday afternoon with an overdose of prescription drugs, Bonfiglio said.

Julie Mulvaney found the bloodied bodies of her two children and
52-year-old ex-husband in an apartment at The Knolls complex around
5:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Witnesses say she ran out of the apartment screaming, saying her children were dead.

According to court records, Julie Mulvaney had primary custody of the children.

She had dropped them off with their father Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

She came to the apartment looking for them after they didn’t show up for school, Bonfiglio said.

She did not have a key to her estranged husband’s apartment, but she found the door unlocked.

Ventura County sheriff's Detective Eric Buschow described the scene as "gruesome."

Julie Mulvaney filed for divorced in February 2008 and the couple soon
began battling over child custody, the sale of their home and James
Mulvaney's fitness as a parent, according to court records.

Custody and visitation had for the most part been ironed out, according to court documents filed Sept. 11.

Julie had the children the majority of the time, but James had overnight visitation rights.

James was seeking financial support from his ex-wife, who made more money, court records show.

Records show James Mulvaney began working for Citibank in late 1997.

When he was terminated Sept. 4, he was financial center manager for the bank’s Camarillo branch, court records show.

The reason for his termination was not listed.

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/sep/17/thousand-oaks-deaths-were-murder-suicide-police/

ruled a murder suicide -