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Post by drewsmom595 on Jan 28, 2009 4:22:19 GMT
This story is so tragic...mainly because 5 kids are dead due to their father's utter stupidity. Kids can survive being in a homeless shelter or on food stamps. You don't have to kill your kids just because you lost your job. It seems that he wanted to "punish" the hospital for letting him go by murdering his family as a revenge measure. What a WASTE.
Distraught Father Kills Wife, 5 Kids, Self By THOMAS WATKINS
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 27) — A man fatally shot his wife, five young children and himself Tuesday after he faxed a note to a TV station claiming the couple had just been fired from their hospital jobs and together planned the killings as an escape for the whole family. "Why leave our children in someone else's hands," Ervin Lupoe wrote in a letter posted late Tuesday on the KABC-TV Web site. The station called police after receiving the fax, and a police dispatch center also received a call from a man who stated, "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot."
A man apparently distraught because he and his wife had lost their jobs killed his spouse and five young children before committing suicide in the family's suburban Los Angeles home Tuesday. Police said Ervin Lupoe, above with his family, even faxed a letter to a local television station in which he said he and his wife were going to carry out the crimes.
Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m., apparently within minutes of the killings. Officers could still smell the gunshot residue in the air. Although the fax asserted that Ana Lupoe planning the killings of the whole family, police Lt. John Romero said Ervin Lupoe was the suspect. A revolver was found next to his body. Ana Lupoe's body was found in an upstairs bedroom with the bodies of the couple's twin 2-year-old boys. The bodies of an 8-year-old girl and twin 5-year-old girls were found alongside Ervin Lupoe's in another bedroom. All were shot in the head, coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. It was the fifth mass death of a Southern California family by murder or suicide in a year. Police urged those facing tough economic times to get help rather than resort to violence. "Today our worst fear was realized," said Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner. "It's just not a solution. There's just so many ways you find alternatives to doing something so horrific and drastic as this." Ervin Lupoe removed three of the children from school about a week and a half ago, saying the family was moving to Kansas, the principal told KCAL-TV. Crescent Heights Elementary School Principal Cherise Pounders-Caver said nothing seemed to be troubling Lupoe at that time; she did not ask why the family was moving. Kaiser Permanente Medical Center West Los Angeles released a statement confirming both Lupoe and his wife had worked there; both were medical technicians. "We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of the Lupoe family," it said in a statement. In his letter, Ervin Lupoe claimed he and his wife both had been fired and that she suggested they kill themselves and their children, too. Police described the fax but did not release details. The letter indicated that Lupoe and his wife had been under investigation for misrepresenting their employment to an outside agency in order to obtain childcare. He claimed that an administrator told the couple on Dec. 23: "You should not even had bothered to come to work today you should have blown your brains out." The couple complained to the human resources department and eventually were offered an apology but two days later the Lupoes were fired, according to the letter. "They did nothing to the manager who stated such and did not attempt to assist us in the matter, knowing we have no job and five children under 8 years with no place to go. So here we are," the note said. At the bottom of the note, Lupoe wrote, "Oh lord, my God, is there no hope for a widow's son?" The Kaiser Permanente statement made no comment on the claims in Lupoe's fax. "It looks like they might have had grounds for his termination ... it wasn't that he was laid off as a result of the economic situation," police Capt. Billy Hayes said. Lupoe's fax identified his children as Brittney, 8; 5-year-old twins Jaszmin and Jassely; and twins Benjamin and Christian, ages 2 years and 4 months. Winter said the children were ages 2 to 8 but his agency would not release the names. He said that although the father's family had been notified, relatives of the rest of the family had not been located. The two-story home, much larger than its one-story neighbors, sits in front of a railroad track in Wilmington, a small community about 18 miles south of downtown. A children's playset stood in the backyard. On his Facebook page, Lupoe posted photographs of a daughter at karate class, and of a fancy tub and wash basins in an apparently remodeled bathroom. Retired truck driver Jaime Solache, who lives a few doors down, said many of these newer, larger homes in the neighborhood had gone into foreclosure. The Lupoe house, which has a sign hanging above the driveway reading "The Lupoe's Pad," is about 6 years old, Solache said. News of the killings sent shivers through the community, and several neighbors came to the yellow police tape to watch a steady procession of officials enter and leave the home. "This area right here is quiet, calm," said Armando Chacon, who lives one block north. "People like to sit out at weekends and barbecue. Other than this, no problems at all." In 1994, Lupoe was charged with carrying a concealed firearm but it was either dismissed or not prosecuted, court documents show. Lupoe got a state license to work as a security guard in 1989 and a permit to carry a gun as a security guard in 1993 but both expired in 2007, said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Bob Pierce, a Long Beach attorney who represented the Lupoes in an auto accident, said the case did not involve any serious injuries and the family was expected to receive "well below $10,000," he said. Lupoe called Monday to find out when the money might be coming, Pierce said. Pierce told him that it might be another week or two "and he said 'no problem.'" The region has been shook by several recent mass murders. On Dec. 24, a man dressed up as Santa Claus invaded a Christmas Eve party and killed his ex-wife and eight of her relatives. The man later killed himself. In October, an unemployed financial manager despairing over extreme money problems shot and killed his wife, three children, mother-in-law and himself in their home in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley. In June, five members of a Turkish-American family, clad in black, were found dead in an upscale home in San Clemente. Investigators say it was apparently a suicide pact but the reason is a mystery.
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Post by iamjumbo on Jan 28, 2009 13:31:32 GMT
there are too many cowards around with kids they have no right to have
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Post by cammie on Jan 28, 2009 13:42:40 GMT
A couple of issues come to mind. First, the medical group which employed both spouses should have not fired both husband and wife! A least not in a short timeframe. The KP jerk who told the father to blow his brains out should be fired. ______________ This couple had more children than they could afford. ____________ This couple lived beyond their means. One should have at least 6 months salary saved for just such finiancial emergencies. If you have to live in a more modest home, so be it. Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's!
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Post by mindy on Jan 28, 2009 14:27:02 GMT
This is ridiculous. I can see killing himself, but he had NO RIGHT killing his family, including his precious children who probably looked up to and loved their father. May he rest in hell, and may his family rest in peace...
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Post by chefmate51 on Jan 28, 2009 14:29:30 GMT
A couple of issues come to mind. First, the medical group which employed both spouses should have not fired both husband and wife! A least not in a short timeframe. The KP jerk who told the father to blow his brains out should be fired. ______________ This couple had more children than they could afford. ____________ This couple lived beyond their means. One should have at least 6 months salary saved for just such finiancial emergencies. If you have to live in a more modest home, so be it. Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's! Why not fire the both of them at once? Kaiser is not a social service agency and if the couple had warrented firing, then to bad for them, they fuked up. As far as a HR representative saying to blow his brains out, that hasn't been proven and I don't buy into it at all seeing who the source was behind the accusation. It would be great to have six months banked up for a rainy day but most families can no longer do that; if you had children you would understand.
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Post by cammie on Jan 28, 2009 16:27:21 GMT
I don't think having children would matter if you were intent on having 6 months living expense savings in the bank. You allow that children have unexpected expenses, but karate lessons are not a necessity. ___________ If they both DESERVED firing, you are correct Chef. Another article I read on this had no motive given for firing the wife, and claimed downsizing was not a factor. I would like to know why she was fired. And if the murder/suicides were the wife's idea, why did he go along with it?
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Post by sadie1263 on Jan 28, 2009 17:33:59 GMT
Just completely ridiculous. Fine....you lost a job.....downsize first.....ok....things are going to suck for awhile but people weather a lot worse all the time......how is your first response to kill everyone? Does anyone remember those vows about thru the good times and the bad.....it's not always going to be peachy.. deal with it! Seriously....they were out of work a month. I wouldn't hold anyone at the hospital responsible.....first of all I doubt anyone said that but same as telling someone to go jump off a bridge.....the guy also sent a letter to a tv station implying someone else killed his family, then his note says his wife planned the killings.....I wouldn't believe a thing the guy said.
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Post by pumpkinette on Jan 28, 2009 20:48:33 GMT
I don't think having children would matter if you were intent on having 6 months living expense savings in the bank. You allow that children have unexpected expenses, but karate lessons are not a necessity. ___________ If they both DESERVED firing, you are correct Chef. Another article I read on this had no motive given for firing the wife, and claimed downsizing was not a factor. I would like to know why she was fired. And if the murder/suicides were the wife's idea, why did he go along with it? Just wondering: what if you have an injury? How are you supposed to save up 6 months worth of pay while on unemployment? I was in this boat in 1997. At that time, you couldn't GET unemployment without a doctor's release. Also, how do you do that if you're out of work and look for over 6 months in 2 cities and the only offer you get is a big PAY CUT over your last job? This happened to me in 2002 and 2003. How is someone supposed to save 6 months of pay with that situation? Also, what if you owe the IRS because of being ON unemployment? Do you tell them "I can't pay you because I'm saving up 6 months of pay"? I really get a laugh out of these statements, because you never point out any REAL-LIFE examples of where it's very hard to do this kind of thing.
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Post by pumpkinette on Jan 28, 2009 20:49:31 GMT
A couple of issues come to mind. First, the medical group which employed both spouses should have not fired both husband and wife! A least not in a short timeframe. The KP jerk who told the father to blow his brains out should be fired. ______________ This couple had more children than they could afford. ____________ This couple lived beyond their means. One should have at least 6 months salary saved for just such finiancial emergencies. If you have to live in a more modest home, so be it. Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's! Why not fire the both of them at once? Kaiser is not a social service agency and if the couple had warrented firing, then to bad for them, they fuked up. As far as a HR representative saying to blow his brains out, that hasn't been proven and I don't buy into it at all seeing who the source was behind the accusation. It would be great to have six months banked up for a rainy day but most families can no longer do that; if you had children you would understand. THANK YOU for pointing out about having kids! THAT'S a REAL-LIFE example that blows away this kind of talk that anyone at any time should be able to save up 6 months of wages!
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Post by chefmate51 on Jan 28, 2009 23:39:34 GMT
Don't get me wrong; I have no quarrel with Cammie's concept of having a six month fund to tide the family over....that is not unreasonable to consider but for some families, it is almost impossible and for others, the fund could be completed by giving up the extras that aren't needed until the fund is full then decide what should or should not be extras.
Here in California, a car is a necessity, not a luxury and housing is expensive so many people cannot put up for a rainy day just trying to make ends meet.
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Post by drewsmom595 on Jan 29, 2009 0:55:17 GMT
Most financial experts agree you should have 6 months savings for rainy days, but I think it's the really rare family that has that these days. A majority of families live paycheck to paycheck.
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Post by cammie on Jan 29, 2009 17:15:45 GMT
I know many live paycheck to paycheck- how stressful!!! I'm just saying ppl really need to think about living a lil "below" their means in order to have cash in the bank. If it takes every penny to meet monthly expenses, you are living above your means, imo. I'd rather live in a less-than situation and be worry free, save money, etc. __________________ But then it would be nice to have a bigger home in a nicer neighborhood. To spend all my monthly income to do so? Not gonna happen! We are all so spoiled in America, we think we need the latest of every gadget, fashion and appliance. We don't NEED that. Look at how ppl in third world's live and you see what reality REALLY IS. ________________ Yes, I'm in debt over Zoe's medical expenses, but I'm not gonna take my savings to pay for that expense. Because of today's economy, it is especially important to have cash at hand. In order to save, do without something that isn't necessary. This thread is a perfect example of gimme gimme ppl who are running in the rat-race, living paycheck to paycheck. If they wanted 5 children fine, but they could not afford to live their lifestyle with 5 children.
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Post by cammie on Jan 29, 2009 17:18:56 GMT
Mindy, you are correct. The father should have killed himself and left everyone else alone.
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Post by pumpkinette on Jan 29, 2009 17:39:34 GMT
I know many live paycheck to paycheck- how stressful!!! I'm just saying ppl really need to think about living a lil "below" their means in order to have cash in the bank. If it takes every penny to meet monthly expenses, you are living above your means, imo. I'd rather live in a less-than situation and be worry free, save money, etc. __________________ But then it would be nice to have a bigger home in a nicer neighborhood. To spend all my monthly income to do so? Not gonna happen! We are all so spoiled in America, we think we need the latest of every gadget, fashion and appliance. We don't NEED that. Look at how ppl in third world's live and you see what reality REALLY IS. ________________ Yes, I'm in debt over Zoe's medical expenses, but I'm not gonna take my savings to pay for that expense. Because of today's economy, it is especially important to have cash at hand. In order to save, do without something that isn't necessary. This thread is a perfect example of gimme gimme ppl who are running in the rat-race, living paycheck to paycheck. If they wanted 5 children fine, but they could not afford to live their lifestyle with 5 children. "Full of gimme gimme people". Did you figure that these "gimme" people ( ) MAY ALREADY HAVE CUT BACK AS MUCH AS THEY CAN? FYI, I've been going without a car since January (I sold it in February, but quit driving it in January) to pay for my school to BETTER MY FINANCIAL SITUATION. Another reason I gave up the car was to DO BETTER FINANCIALLY. All my extra money was going to repairs and I was tired of it.
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Post by cammie on Jan 30, 2009 14:38:54 GMT
The "gimme gimme" ppl I was referring to is the family which this thread is concerning. They didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck- that was their choice.
Stuff deleted
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Post by chefmate51 on Jan 30, 2009 16:01:49 GMT
Most people think the extras are necessities and try to convince them otherwise is like banging your head into a wall.
Some people do live paycheck to paycheck and have done everything possible to keep the extras at a minimum but others threw caution to the wind and now are whining...those are the ones you will hear about as the others do their day to day and deal with it.
If sounds like this family caused their own firings by trying to be dishonest; they created their own downfall
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Post by riotgrrl on Jan 31, 2009 11:55:09 GMT
There seem to have been several cases on both sides of the pond recently of this kind of thing.
What gets me is the sense of 'ownership' that the murderer seems to have over his (and it's usually but not always a man) children and family. I find that really hard to get my head round, but some people do seem to think that they 'own' their children in some weird way, and that the lives of their children are totally aborbed in their own life.
It's egotism of the highest - and horriblest - order.
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Post by cammie on Jan 31, 2009 17:25:21 GMT
Riotgirl, You are correct about the misplaced ownership concept. A spouse has the same attitude many times, that's the base of abuse and murder when one partner attempts to leave another. Children are unfortunately vulnerable to these ego maniacs, and the ego is really an evil concept.
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