American Idol Murder Suspect Allegedly Suicidal as Arraignment Is Delayed by Judge: 'He's Staring Into Space' (Exclusive) By Danielle Bacher

Murder suspect Raymond Boodarian, who is accused of fatally shooting longtime American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her rock guitarist husband Thomas Deluca, both 70, at their sprawling $4.5 million Encino property on July 10, appeared in court Wednesday, August 20.

Boodarian, 22, wearing a suicide gown and sporting a black mustache, glanced through a caged window toward the gallery, appearing dazed and confused — according to footage shown to PEOPLE — and was referred to mental health court for evaluation. He did not enter a plea during the 13-minute arraignment hearing in Van Nuys, California. When Judge Martin L. Herscovitz attempted to address Boodarian multiple times from behind a locked door, he received no response.

“Mr. Boodarian, can you hear me? Mr. Boodarian?” Judge Herscovitz asked.

“He does have severe mental health issues. He’s appearing today in a suicide gown,” his public defender, Nancy Kolocotronis, told the court at the beginning of the hearing around 9:30 a.m.

She explained that it has not yet been determined what his mental health issues are, but that he is allegedly suicidal. After the judge’s attempts to get Boodarian’s attention failed, he conferred with both lawyers in a sidebar before trying again.

“One more time. Mr. Boodarian? Mr. Boodarian, can you hear me?” the judge inquired. “Let the record reflect he’s still staring out into space and not responding to the court’s questions.”

Soon after, the judge suspended the arraignment and ordered him to appear in mental health court instead on Sept. 3 in Hollywood. He’s still being held without bail.

The judge said any arraignment on Boodarian’s murder charges would have to wait until he’s deemed mentally fit and acknowledged he didn’t believe it was “fair” to continue without the suspect’s involvement.

Family members and friends of Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, sat in the back of the courtroom. Boodarian’s father, who also attended the hearing, appeared emotionless.

Back on July 10, on a golden morning in Los Angeles, Kaye and Deluca began their day like any other. They chatted over lattes in the airy kitchen of their residence and fed their beloved pets, claimed longtime friend and bandmate Ronnie Brooks, 73, who recalled how the couple’s pet African gray parrot Bogey often chirped, “Mommy’s home” when Kaye walked through the door.

Later that afternoon, Kaye met with a family member to get smoothies around 11 a.m., according to a source close to the family. After she went on a grocery run with her husband to their local market, the couple returned to their hillside sanctuary — unaware that the house had been breached. Police say the front door had been left unlocked, the alarm disabled. Inside, according to a new police affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone, a stranger with a baseball cap, gray shirt and black sandals was waiting.

Within the hour, both were dead, shot multiple times in the head, execution-style, with a gun that allegedly belonged to them, according to police and the district attorney. Boodarian, was arrested five days later outside his rented townhouse in Reseda while shirtless on July 15. Two days later, he was charged with two counts of murder and one count of residential burglary on July 17.

But the horror didn’t end there.

“Robin went to change the laundry, and that’s when Boodarian shot her,” claims the family source exclusively to PEOPLE. “Tom [allegedly] heard the gunfire and ran to confront him, but was shot outside multiple times. Boodarian then [allegedly] dragged Tom’s body back into the house and shot Robin again.”

Afterward, according to the source, Boodarian only stole one thing from the home. “He [allegedly] didn’t steal anything else. The rest of their jewelry is still in the safe, which the family opened on Friday, Aug. 1. Robin’s wedding ring was also found not on her finger, but on the ground, but he didn’t take it. All [allegedly] Boodarian took was their gun.”

Yet despite two 911 calls and multiple police visits that day, it wasn’t until four days later, on July 14, that authorities discovered the couple’s bodies, following a welfare check requested by a friend of Kaye’s. According to the same source, a family member provided the secured gate code to help officers access the property and launch an investigation.

In the days that followed, more details began to emerge. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner told PEOPLE their time of death was recorded at 4:14 p.m. that day. Another source tells PEOPLE that the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner does not determine the exact date and time of death. Instead, the report will include the time and date death was pronounced for the couple when it’s released to the public.

Already reeling from the loss of the popular couple, neighbors in their affluent community — which has seen an uptick in crime recently — demanded answers.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the couple was shot with their own gun. The details of the killings were revealed during a town hall meeting in Encino on July 21, where hundreds of residents gathered to express frustration about crime in the area.

Speaking to the crowd on Monday night, Hochman said the couple’s killings felt personal to him as a lifelong Angeleno. “The government owes you one thing, and that’s safety,” he said. He emphasized that Kaye and Deluca were denied that basic promise — and that the system failed them.

“The brutal and heartbreaking murder of Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca has shaken their Encino community,” Hochman told PEOPLE exclusively on July 24. “My heart goes out to the victims’ loved ones as they endure an unimaginable loss.

“I am steadfast in my commitment to keep our communities safe and hold those who commit violent offenses accountable for their actions,” Hochman continued. “We will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law to deliver justice for the victims and their families.”

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Still, tragedy unfolded for Kaye and Deluca four weeks ago, when, at 4:10 p.m., a neighbor called 911 after seeing a man scaling the wall outside the couple’s house on July 10. A police helicopter flew over the property but, spotting no signs of trouble, left after two minutes. Some 40 minutes later, a second 911 call was placed, this time from inside the home’s office.

The caller identified himself as the resident and reported a break-in. Moments later, the operator heard him plead, “Please don’t shoot me” before the line went dead, according to a police affidavit. Authorities later identified the caller as the suspect Boodarian, who had given his real name. Again, a police helicopter scanned the scene but detected nothing and left shortly after 5 p.m. By then, investigators believe Boodarian had used their firearm he found — which, according to a third source they purchased only weeks prior— to fatally shoot Kaye and Deluca in separate rooms of the house. 

All units arrived shortly before 5:00 p.m., according to dispatcher audio. At that time, Air 16 was called in again to survey the scene from above. However, officers reported that the helicopter did not observe anything suspicious. They cleared the area approximately seven minutes later, at around 5:07 p.m. According to LAPD officials, the home’s front door was not visible from the outside during the initial response. The residence was heavily secured, with a locked perimeter and gated entry.

“I just hope we get more answers,” says the family source. “There’s still so many unknowns, especially hearing what’s on that 911 calls, when the police actually arrived at the scene and why they didn’t initially enter the property despite what seems like serious probable cause. We all want to know the truth.”

According to a police affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone, the couple were seen on video footage arriving back at the home at 4:43 p.m. Just 10 minutes later, Boodarian was seen leaving the residence “as he concealed a handgun in his right rear waistband,” the affidavit claims.

Boodarian is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, according to records obtained by PEOPLE. If convicted as charged, Boodarian faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death.

“I want to know Boodarian’s mental state the day he was arrested as today doesn’t mean anything, even if he is suicidal now,” the family source continues. “It only matters Boodarian’s mental state when he was committing the crime.”