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Motive Sought in Murder Suicide That Killed LA County Sheriff's Deputy

A man shot his wife - an LA County Sheriff's deputy - then shot himself

Sheriff's homicide detectives Tuesday were trying to determine what led to the murder-suicide that claimed the life of an off-duty sheriff's deputy shot and killed in her La Canada Flintridge home by her husband, an off-duty Los Angeles County firefighter who later shot himself to death in Pacoima.

The slain deputy was identified by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as 32-year-old Cecilia Hoschet, a two-year department veteran who worked at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The dead man was identified as firefighter/paramedic James M. Taylor, Capt. Keith Mora of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Taylor killed his wife, then drove to a county fire facility in Pacoima, where he shot himself to death in a government vehicle, officials said.

Before he took his own life, Taylor left their 6-year-old son at the home of a relative, according to the sheriff's department.

In recent weeks, Hoschet had spoken to close friends of previous abuse, and her decision to end the marriage, KFI Radio reports, citing anonymous sources.  

Taylor was working a 24-hour shift that began Sunday, but left the Altadena station mid-shift, Mora said.

During  a two-radio transmission on a County Fire frequency, a voice can be heard alerting authorities that a dead body, referred to as a "DB," would be found in the family home, that the assailant was already gone, and that a second dead body would be found in Pacoima, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

"We lost a wonderful deputy last night," Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Monday. Hoschet "impressed everyone she met" at the department, McDonnell said in praising the deputy's "positive and helpful approach to her work."

"She enjoyed being a deputy and really liked people," he said.

Prior to attending the Sheriff's academy, Hoschet had worked more than seven years as a paramedic for the fire department in the San Gabriel Valley city of Sierra Madre.  It was a part-time position and she worked additional shifts as a paramedic for a private ambulance service in Riverside.

"She enjoyed helping people," said Sierra Madre Fire Chief Steve Heydorff.  "Being on calls with her, you could tell how caring she was."

Taylor had joined  been the County Fire Department about the time the couple's child was born. He worked at multiple stations before being assigned last year to the Pacoima warehouse where equipment for Urban Search and Rescue is stored and maintained, according to Mora.  Periodically he would work additional shifts as a paramedic, as he began to do Sunday.  

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A 911 call reporting a "woman screaming" brought responders to the house on Crown Avenue shortly before 10pm Sunday night, said Deputy Mike Barraza of the Sheriff's Information Bureau.

"Deputies made entry into the residence and found a 32-year-old female victim dead of a gunshot wound," Barraza said.

The door was open when the deputies arrived, officials said. 

The 6-year-old boy was believed to have been home at the time of the shooting, sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said. Sheriff's homicide detectives were called to the Pacoima facility by Los Angeles police, who had responded to reports of a dead body at the location, he said.

A weapon was recovered at the scene in Pacoima, Barraza said.

"Today is a sad day for all public safety personnel in Los Angeles County. On behalf of the entire fire department, we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends facing the pain of loss," LACFD Chief Daryl L. Osby said.

"Our thoughts are with everyone who was impacted by this tragedy," Osby said. "As we continue to learn more, we thank all of the entities involved for their assistance and will continue to support our brothers and sisters in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department."

Even after joining the Sheriff's Dept., Hoschet returned to visit the Sierra Madre fire station to most every month to visit with her former colleagues, said Heydorff.  He recalled she invariably brought along her son, who loved to play on the fire engines.

The orphaned child is now in the care of relatives. 

City News Service contributed to this report.

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