In the mid-afternoon on Monday, July 14, LAPD officers entered an Encino home and found two individuals deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.
Officers were responding to a welfare check in the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue when upon entering, they noticed a trail of blood leading from the entrance. One man and one woman were found in different rooms, with multiple gunshot wounds and declared dead at the scene.
Sources have now confirmed that the victims are American Idol producer Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca. According to a neighbor, it was a family member that called in the welfare check after not hearing from the residents for several days.
While another neighbor noticed an individual jumping the fence of this house a week prior, cops were not able to access the home because of tight security and saw nothing of suspicion. However, it is now believed that it is on that day, July 10, when the murder occurred. It is only when a family member with the gate code showed up days later for the welfare check that the cops could access the home. After shattering a glass back door to gain access to the home, cops encountered the gruesome scene.
A day after the discovery, officers arrested 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian of Encino in connection with the murders. It is believed that he was in the process of burglarizing the multi-million dollar home when the couple came home approximately 30 minutes later. During the struggle, Boodarian shot and killed them.
While the suspect has no history of burglary, he does have a criminal record. Officers were able to identify Boodarian thanks to facial recognition technology utilized while reviewing surveillance video in the neighborhood, as well as forensic evidence left at the scene.
Boodarian has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of residential burglary with a person present.
Neighbors’ reactions have ranged from sadness to pure frustration, both at the increasing level of crime in the area and the police response to it. Encino has been the target of multiple burglaries in recent years and the couple had previously expressed concerns about their safety because their home had been targeted multiple times before.
