NEED TO KNOW
- American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her musician husband Thomas Deluca were allegedly shot and killed with their own firearm on July 10
- The suspect, Raymond Boodarian, called police from their home
- Boodarian allegedly stole numerous items from the home — including the couple’s own gun, which he hid in his home
On the sun-drenched morning of July 10 in the San Fernando Valley, Robin Kaye, a longtime music supervisor for American Idol, and her husband, rock guitarist Thomas Deluca, both 70, had just returned from grocery store run when their quiet life was shattered.
What followed was a brutal break-in: a deadly confrontation that turned their home into a crime scene and their serene neighborhood into the setting of a double homicide.
But what has not been publicly disclosed — until now — is that the alleged suspect, Raymond Boodarian, 22, fled the scene with their stolen firearm, allegedly used in the murders, and later hid it under his bed. He also took jewelry and what may have been the couple’s cell phone.
Police say, according to an affidavit revealed exclusively by PEOPLE, Boodarian used a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a 10-round magazine — allegedly shooting the victims in different areas of the home before fleeing. The gun, sources say, had only been purchased a week or so earlier.
A police search warrant exclusively obtained by PEOPLE details what investigators later found at Boodarian’s Reseda townhouse: the couple’s alleged firearm, 12 brass casings, bullets from the chamber and magazine and 11 live rounds from a box tucked under his mattress, toward the foot of the bed.
The list of stolen items paints a grim inventory of the couple’s final hours and the suspect’s haul: two black smart watches, two bracelets, two white metal necklaces, three stone-studded rings, one Greek-symbol ring, clear stone earrings, a cross pendant featuring a white Jesus figure and a white metal cross. The police also confiscated two cell phones.
Boodarian was arrested outside his residence, sans shirt, on July 15.
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A search warrant affidavit filed that day and obtained by PEOPLE reveals a series of eerie, tragic details. Five days earlier, on July 10, a neighbor had called police after spotting an intruder climbing Kaye’s fence, allegedly attempting to break into the couple’s office. The LAPD generated a radio call at 4:10 p.m.
Then, 35 minutes later, another 911 call came in, allegedly from Boodarian. According to the affidavit: “The 911 caller then stated, ‘Please don’t shoot me.’”
Surveillance footage would later fill in the missing pieces: Boodarian is seen scaling the front fence at 4:06 p.m. Kaye and Deluca returned home at 4:43 p.m. Ten minutes later, the same suspect is seen fleeing — a handgun tucked into the waistband of his pants, the affidavit says.
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It wasn’t until four days later that officers discovered the bodies of Kaye and Deluca, after police responded to a welfare check at the couple’s home. A friend of the victim, who requested the check, told officers she had not heard from the couple for several days and was worried.
Inside, officers found the couple deceased with multiple gunshot wounds, plus numerous casings, per the affidavit. Their bodies were in a state of decomposition consistent with having been there for “several days.”
Kaye and Deluca sustained multiple gunshot wounds on July 10 at approximately 4:45 p.m., according to their death certificates, obtained exclusively by PEOPLE.
Deluca died within seconds of being shot, while Kaye died minutes after sustaining her gunshot wounds, the death certificates further revealed. The manner of death for both was listed as homicide. They were both cremated on July 23.
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Facing two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree residential burglary, a dazed-looking Boodarian arrived in a Van Nuys courtroom in a suicide gown on Wednesday, August 20, for his arraignment.
Judge Martin L. Herscovitz suspended the hearing and referred Boodarian to a mental health court for evaluation after he repeatedly failed to respond. Boodarian’s public defender, Nancy Kolocotronis, told the court that her client is allegedly suicidal.
Judge Herscovitz said Boodarian’s arraignment will hinge on the evaluation of his mental fitness, telling the court last week that he didn’t believe it was “fair” to continue without the suspect’s involvement. Per recent court records obtained by PEOPLE, a psychiatrist was appointed to examine Boodarian and prepare a report on his current mental status.
Boodarian is scheduled to appear in mental health court on Sept. 3 in Hollywood. He’s still being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. If convicted as charged, he faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death.
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