Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Unemployed California Dad Who Killed Family, Himself Said Hospital Incited Tragedy

An unemployed Los Angeles father said in a suicide note that he methodically shot and killed his family before turning the gun on himself because he and his wife were fired by the hospital where they worked after being told "you should have blown your brains out."

But the hospital said it was "confident" that none of its employees told Ervin Lupoe to take his own life or kill his family.

Police are investigating after finding a horrific scene at the Lupoes' home in Wilmington, Calif., on Tuesday morning.

In one upstairs bedroom, the bodies of twin 2-year-old boys were found beside their dead mother. In another bedroom, 5-year-old twin girls and their 8-year-old sister lay next to their lifeless father.

Click here for photos.

Lupoe, a X-ray technician, and his wife had both recently been fired from their jobs at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

His letter, faxed to KABC-TV in Los Angeles, indicated that Lupoe and his wife — both 40 — had been investigated for misrepresenting their employment to an outside agency to obtain child care.

He claimed that an administrator told the couple on Dec. 23: "You should not even had bothered to come to work today you should have blown your brains out."

The Los Angeles Police Department said it's unlikely the hospital would be held legally responsible for telling Lupoe to blow his brains out.

"I don't know how someone's statement could be prosecuted," LAPD Officer Sam Park told FOXNews.com. "It's just like if I told you to go jump off a cliff. I don't think it could be prosecuted legally."

Park said he wasn't aware of any investigation into the hospital or its employees.

Attempts to reach the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office for clarification were unsuccessful.

Lupoe's letter said the couple complained to the human resources department and eventually were offered an apology, but two days later they were fired.

"They did nothing to the manager who stated such and did not attempt to assist us in the matter, knowing we have no job and five children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are," the note said.

Police believe Ervin Lupoe killed his five children and his wife before turning the gun on himself.

"Why leave our children in someone else's hands?" Lupoe wrote in his letter to KABC. The station posted the letter on its Web site with parts redacted.

The station called authorities after receiving the fax and a phone call from Lupoe, and a police dispatch center also received a call from a man who said, "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot." Police are unsure who the male caller was, but they suspect it was the father.

Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and found the bodies.

All the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times, coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The killings may have occurred between Monday evening and early Tuesday, based on neighbors' accounts of firecracker sounds, he said.

Although the fax — addressed to "whom it may concern" and explaining "why we are dead" — asserted that the wife, Ana Lupoe, planned the killings of the whole family, police Lt. John Romero said Ervin Lupoe was the suspect. A revolver was found next to his body.

It was the fifth mass death of a Southern California family by murder or suicide in a year. Police urged those facing tough economic times to get help rather than resort to violence.

"Today our worst fear was realized," said Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner. "It's just not a solution. There's just so many ways you find alternatives to doing something so horrific and drastic as this."

Ervin Lupoe removed three of the children from school about a week and a half ago, saying the family was moving to Kansas, the principal told KCAL-TV. Crescent Heights Elementary School Principal Cherise Pounders-Caver said nothing seemed to be troubling Ervin Lupoe, and she did not ask why the family was moving.

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center West Los Angeles released a statement confirming Lupoe and his wife were fired as medical technicians more than a week ago. The hospital said the firings followed an internal investigation but would not specify why they lost their jobs.

Lupoe's fax identified his children as Brittney, 8; 5-year-old twins Jaszmin and Jassely; and twins Benjamin and Christian, ages 2 years and 4 months. Winter confirmed the identities of the girls, but the boys' names were pending.

To Amanda Garcia, everything seemed normal in the Lupoe house next door. Her neighbors always had a friendly wave and their five young children would play outside.

"They were happy, they had birthday parties," the 22-year-old Garcia said as she choked back tears near her home. "The kids were always outside on bikes, riding on their wagon."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Alphabet Story...(Makes No Sense At All!)

A cynical old man was walking down the street one day. Behind him was a little girl who had always wondered why he was so angry all the time. Catherine, the little girl's name, was a very affable person. Doubtfully, the girl poked the old man in the back hoping he would talk to her but he wouldn't turn around. Eventually, he turned around and gave Catherine a very hateful look and even told her that he abhorred little children. Face-to-face they had an intimidating stare at one another. Generally, someone would blink. However, the demure little girl looked away with such a sad face that it left the old man with a dilemma. Infact, he almost felt bad and started to talk to her only to remain quiet again. Just before the old man went to walk away, Catherine grabbed his hand & it startled the man. Kindly he turned back and looked at her. The Loving and sweet Catherine gave him a nice smile. Manuel, the grumpy old man's name, had a feeling he had never felt before and he didn't know what had made him feel this. No one knew what happend to Manuel to explain this either. Other than thinking it was the little girl who made him feel that way, Manuel to this day still wouldn't be able to tell you what happened to him. People say that it was the look on Catherine's face that gave the man a remorse feeling that made him upset about the way he was and it changed him. The Quiet man, or should I say the NOW quiet man, soon began to help people that needed it and even participated in their communities' events. The Ragged man now dresses like a normal person should. Sometimes, he kind of goes back to his old ways, but then is very fastly reminded of why he changed. Then he remembers and knows that he never again wants to be an old fussy, grumpy man that does nothing but yell at everyone he sees. Unfortunately, Manuel has become very, very ill and is not expected to live much longer. The Very "now-loving" man has many friend, young kids to older adults. With all of these people behind him praying and hoping he gets better, I'm sure he will very soon. X-mas would be sad if they didn't have their new friend there with them to celebrate it too. Yet, they would have the wonderful memories Manuel has given them. Zombified by the news that they recieved shortly after he got ill, they all made little gifts to take the man and when he saw them he had the biggest smile on him that I'm sure none of them would forget.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Through They Eyes of A Dog

Hello! My name is Bevo and I used to live with the greatest people in the world. Their names were Amber, Jonathan, Rhonda, & Jamie. They loved me so much. I could feel it every time one of them would come home and scream my name. I would start running to them because I didn't see them all day so when I finally got to, I was so happy!
But one day, they didn't come home and I got scared and worried. It felt like they didn't come back for days and days. I started getting hungry and I had eaten all of my food. So, I started looking around to see if there was anything else to eat. But all I could find was just their things. I was so hungry that I started chewing on their stuff to see if I liked any of it. Well, they eventually came home and saw the mess. I heard the man of the house say that they had to get rid of me if I was going to keep acting like that and chewing on stuff I know I'm not supposed to chew on. So I tried to make sure that I didn't do it again! But, one day when I woke up from my midday nap I was hungry! I knew that they were only supposed to feed me in the morning and at night. So I couldn't eat in the middle of the day if I had already eaten my food. Which I had! I don't know what happened!! My mind just went crazy and I only remember waking up hearing Amber screaming "OH NO!"
When I looked around me, I saw that I had chewed up their shoes! I was so scared. I knew that I was going to get put in the pen! So, as I hesitantly waited for everyone else to come home, I tried cleaning up my mess. Which, by the way, didn't work. When Jamie finally came home and saw what I had done, he told everyone that he was through with me and it was time for me to go to another home. Amber and Rhonda started crying and said that they didn't want me to leave. But Jamie said that we didn't have a choice.
A couple weeks went by and soon enough, they were taking me to another home. Amber was crying and holding me, while Rhonda was trying to convince Jamie to let me stay. When we came to a stop, I noticed we were at a house out in the country and I thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. I would get to run around and play and chew on things outside without getting into trouble.So, Jamie went and knocked on the door while the rest of them told me bye. It was probably the saddest I have ever felt in my whole life! When Jamie got done talking to the owner of the house, they both walked over to me and Jamie handed me to the man. Amber and Rhonda were crying so hard that it made me want to cry! Then, they left and I was left there without a friend to love me.
Eventually, me and my new owner got close and I can tell that he now loves me almost as much as my other owners did, and I love him, too! I still think about them, at times, and wonder how they are doing.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My New Years...


So for New Years I'm pretty sure I did absolutely nothing, but still managed to have fun. :) I was just with one person and all we did was watch movies and watch the ball drop. Then I went home.

I don't have a New Years Resolution (other than to try and get straight A's the rest of the year) because I have decided that if I make some and they don't happen or I can't do it or whatever, I won't be disappointed. So, in my opinion, it's best to just not have any major resolutions that probably won't happen.

Monday, January 5, 2009