Filipina, baby in apparent murder-suicide in Long Beach | Global News

Filipina, baby in apparent murder-suicide in Long Beach

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Charlene Ventanilla and infant Shane. FACEBOOK

LOS ANGELES – Neighbors and police in Long Beach are wondering what drove a 36-year-old Filipina to stab her infant son to death before turning the knife on herself sometime before 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Ken Ventanilla returned to his home on the 1500 block of Park Avenue to discover the lifeless bodies of his wife, Charlene, and their eight-week-old son, Shane, apparently following what investigators have labeled a murder-suicide.

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Officers dispatched to the residence found that both subjects had suffered multiple stab wounds to the upper body, according to a preliminary statement from Long Beach Police.  Mother and son were pronounced dead at the scene by the fire department.

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The Ventanillas appeared to have a healthy and happy life, according to a neighbor of the family speaking anonymously.

“They had friends over,” she told the Orange County Register. “They had barbecues up there. Just a happy couple.”

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She added that the newly widowed father was seen crying and struggling to maintain his composure as police interviewed him.

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On Tuesday, investigators and forensics technicians gathered statements from other people living nearby and collected about six large bags of evidence before departing from the site of the crime at about 2 p.m., according to the OC Register. As officers were leaving, a small group of people was seen across the street from the family’s home huddled in a circle with their heads lowered.

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The Ventanillas have another son, who is two years old.

Anyone with information that might help the Ventanillas and law enforcement better understand why such a tragedy took place is encouraged to contact detectives of the Long Beach Police Department at (562) 570-7244.

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