California father arrested after 4 kids, grandmother killed

LANCASTER, Calif. – A information defender whose online posts talked astir pursuing a bully and spiritual beingness remained jailed Tuesday connected suspicion of shooting to decease his 4 children, including an infant, and their grandma astatine their Southern California home.

Authorities haven't released a imaginable motive for the play onslaught successful Lancaster, a metropolis successful the Antelope Valley precocious godforsaken assemblage northbound of Los Angeles.

The parent returned location Sunday nighttime to find the bodies of the children, each of whom were nether the property of 12, and their grandma and called 911, authorities said.

Grace Beltran, who lives 3 houses away, said a pistillate ran backmost and distant successful their beforehand yard, screaming, “My babies are gone! They’re each dead!”

Germarcus David, 29, turned himself successful to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies wrong minutes of his wife's accomplishment astatine home. He remained jailed connected $2 cardinal bail and was expected to marque an archetypal tribunal quality connected Tuesday.

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It wasn't instantly wide whether helium had a lawyer who could talk connected his behalf.

The victims were changeable successful the precocious torso and died astatine the scene. Authorities did not place them but Waki Jones, who worked with the household done his Lancaster daycare service, told the Los Angeles Times that the 2 eldest children were Amaya, 12, and Demarcus, 9.

“Amaya was a saccharine girl, and each morning, the ma would archer her, ‘Say bully greeting to coach,’” Jones said, meaning himself. “She was ever protecting her brother, making definite helium was harmless astatine school.”

“To bash this to the kids, it’s cowardly. It’s conscionable unbelievable,” helium told the Times.

The different victims were an infant, a kid nether 12 and the grandmother, who was successful her 50s and who was astatine the location babysitting, authorities said.

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Sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean said helium wasn't alert of immoderate erstwhile reports of home unit astatine the home.

David was a licensed information defender and held a licence to transportation a weapon but it expired successful August 2020 and was listed arsenic canceled, according to records from the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, which regulates the backstage information industry.

What appeared to beryllium David’s Facebook leafage includes a photograph of a crucifix and posts from precocious October and earlier this period offering spiritual and motivation views.

“Just cognize that God loves you erstwhile you consciousness unloved for,” David said successful a Nov. 16 post.

“The emotion I springiness volition overflow from 1 bosom to the adjacent arsenic a acquisition that keeps giving. I volition beryllium 1 of the reasons that others judge successful the existent goodness of this world," David posted connected Oct. 27, adding: “THAT is what I privation my bequest to be. THAT is what I privation my children to turn up seeing."

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The killings happened successful a vicinity of tidy, modern homes, immoderate decorated for Christmas.

James Martin, 32, who lives nearby, said the deaths broke his heart.

“I don’t recognize it,” helium said. “I cognize things get unsmooth but it’s ne'er worthy it to instrumentality the beingness — lives — of anybody.”

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Associated Press writer John Antczak successful Los Angeles and researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.

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