Police: Jobless father kills family, self
updated 2:27 a.m. EDT, Tue October 7, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A man distraught because he could not find
work shot and killed his mother-in-law, his wife and three sons and then
killed himself inside a home in an upscale San Fernando Valley neighborhood,
police said.

Police outside a home where an unemployed father is believed to have killed
his sons, wife and mother-in-law.

Authorities said the man had an MBA in finance but appeared to have been
unemployed for several months and had worked for major accounting firms,
such as Price Waterhouse, police said.

The two-story rented home is in gated community in Porter Ranch, about 20
miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The names of the victims have not been released, said Deputy Chief of Police
Michel Moore.

The shootings were discovered at 7:15 a.m. Monday, when a neighbor called
police to report that the wife had not picked her up as she usually did to
take her to her job at a pharmacy, Moore said.

The mother-in-law was 70; her daughter was 39; and the sons were 19, 12 and
7, Moore said. All were found inside bedrooms. A handgun, which was bought
September 16, was recovered, he said.

The killings are thought to have occurred after 6 p.m. Saturday, when the
man was last seen, Moore said.

Inside the house, three letters that appear to have been written by the
suspect were found. One was to law enforcement acknowledging responsibility
for the killings, a second to friends and relatives and a third that appears
to be the suspect's will, Moore said.

"He attests to some financial difficulties, and he takes responsibility for
the taking of the lives of his family members and himself as a result of
those financial difficulties," Moore said.

No neighbors reported having heard gunshots, and there was no sign of forced
entry at the house, Moore said.

There is no evidence the suspected gunman had had any history of mental
difficulties, Moore said.

Neighbor Trish Harrison, who lives three houses from the crime scene, said
the family had lived in the community for about a year. They kept to
themselves and had little interaction with neighbors. The parents were from
India, she said.