San Diego

Son Suspected of Killing Parents, Then Self: SDPD

Torrey Highlands is a residential area south of State Route 56 and west of Black Mountain Road and Interstate 15

San Diego police believe a couple found dead inside their Torrey Highlands home over the weekend was killed by their son who had jumped off an overpass to his death along Interstate 805.

San Diego Police Department Lt. Martha Sainz confirmed Monday the suspect – whose name was not immediately released – had jumped from the Eastgate Mall overpass on I-805 Friday, just before 2 a.m. He died by suicide at the scene.

On Saturday, just before 10 p.m., that man’s parents were found dead inside their home at 7405 Via Rivera. They had suffered trauma to their upper bodies, police said.

Sources within SDPD tell NBC the husband and wife were both stabbed multiple times on Friday.

On Monday, the man found dead inside that home was identified by his supervisor as a Qualcomm employee.

"His personality was very quiet. Always tried to get the best job done at work," said Murali Bharadwaj. "Always a very pleasing, very personable character."   

The San Diego County Medical Examiner has not released the identity of the victims, however co-workers of the woman found inside the home told NBC 7 she had recently retired from Scripps Research Institute. 

The couple, said to be in their 50s, was supposed to catch a flight to San Francisco Saturday but when they failed to arrive, concerned family members asked San Diego police officers to make a welfare check at the couple's home. 

When officers got to the house, they knocked on the door and tried calling the couple, but got no answer.

Sainz said officers then looked through a rear window and saw a person lying on the floor. Officers forced their way inside the home and discovered the couple dead inside.

No one other than the victims was found inside the home, police said, and the contents of the home did not appear to be disturbed.

At this point in the investigation, Sainz said homicide detectives believe the man who died by suicide along I-805 was the son of the victims and the suspect in their slayings.

Police are trying to determine a motive for the killings.

Torrey Highlands is a residential area south of State Route 56 and west of Black Mountain Road and Interstate 15.

Anyone with information regarding this incident can call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

NBC 7's Melissa Adan spoke to neighbors who learned about the gruesome death of a couple in their neighborhood.
Contact Us