Getty Police tape at a crime scene.
A father from Placentia, California, stabbed and killed his 9-year-old twin daughters early on Wednesday morning before killing himself in a suspected murder-suicide, police said in a press release. Placentia Police Department identified the suspect as 41-year-old Timothy Takehara.
According to the police’s statement, on October 7 at 12:38 a.m., officers with the Placentia Police Department were called to a residence on the 400 block of Swanson Ave. The call was regarding “an unknown trouble with two children stabbed,” police said, adding that “The mother of the two children called 911 and stated that her husband had just stabbed the children.”
Police added that when they responded, they found “an adult male subject lying on grass on a front yard.” The man, who was “bleeding profusely,” was identified as Takehara. Officers also found “two female children, 9 years of age, bleeding inside of a residence.” All three were declared dead at the scene, police said, despite life-saving measures.
The statement indicated that two other people, identified as the mother and grandmother of the children, were found unharmed inside the residence. The Placentia Police Department concluded its investigation and no arrests were made.
The Two Girls, Who Were Not Identified, Were in Third Grade at Golden Elementary School
The 9-year-old twin girls were in third grade at Golden Elementary School in Placentia. The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District issued a statement about the suspected murder-suicide: “Our thoughts are with the students’ family, friends, and loved ones as they cope with this tremendous personal loss.” The statement continues:
Limited details of the deaths will be made public as the district wishes to respect the privacy of the family and support the integrity of Placentia Police Department’s (PPD) ongoing investigation at this time. Additional support staff, including grief counselors, will be on campus over the next several days to assist those who may be impacted by this tragedy.
One of the family’s neighbors spoke to ABC7 about the horrific crime. Natascha Vayda told the outlet that she’d never seen the father or the young girls outside of the house. “They never played with the neighbors out here,” she said. “A lot of the kids on the street are super interactive with each other, so I didn’t even know who they were.”
Police Released the 911 Call of the Victims’ Mother Reporting the Incident to Law Enforcement
Police released the 911 call for the incident, in which the victims’ mother reported that her husband had stabbed their girls, ABC7 reported. During the call, the mother can be heard saying, “My husband just stabbed my children.” She was asked how many victims there were and said, “Two. There’s two. I have twin girls.”
The Placentia Police Department’s statement about the incident indicated that officers had previously visited the residence in September 2019. In that case, the call was related to a “verbal argument between adult residents.” Police chief Darin Lenyi said:
On behalf of the men and women of the Placentia Police Department, we are truly heartbroken by the tragic events that occurred last night. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their family and we will continue to investigate to try and make sense of this horrific crime.
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