A 60-year-old man shot and killed his sick sister and wife the same day in an apparent mercy killing, police said.
Police were first alerted to the killings after the man allegedly shot his sister in a nursing home. The suspect, whose name has not been released, walked into the County Villa Sheraton Nursing & Rehabilitation center in the San Fernando Valley around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Armed with a small caliber gun, the man went to his sister's room and shot her in the head, reports said. When police responded they found the suspect, described as a white man, waiting on the patio, NBC News reported.
"He gave up without any problems at all," Los Angeles Police Lt. Paul Vernon told NBC News.
The woman said to be the suspect's sister, 58-year-old Lisa Nave, died at the scene. She suffered a heart attack five years ago and had been in a vegetative state ever since, Vernon said, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Vernon said after Nave's family was notified about her death, one of her relatives said they were worried about the suspect's wife who suffers from dementia, CBS Los Angeles reported. Police then found the body of a woman they suspect was his wife inside the suspect's Canyon Country home. Police are still investigating the woman's death, but the suspect allegedly killed her earlier that day.
"The assumption there is that [the suspect] killed her, came [to the nursing facility], and killed his sister," Vernon said, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The suspect had once allegedly applied for a job at the nursing home, CBS Los Angeles reported. The motive is not officially known, but police say the suspect shot his wife and sister was out of sympathy. Vernon said the shootings were "mercy killings at least form his standpoint," NBC News reported.
