Standoff Ends in Apparent Murder-Suicide of Toddler and Father

A 911 hangup call from a gated Trabuco Canyon neighborhood bordering Coto de Caza ended in an apparent murder-suicide involving a man, 41, and his 3 1/2-year-old son son.

Deputies responding to the call just after 6 p.m. at 15 Swallows Lane found a woman standing outside with her 18-month-old daughter, said said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The woman had been involved in a domestic disturbance, and she said her husband and the toddler were still inside the house, said Hallock.

Efforts to communicate with the man were unsuccessful, and a SWAT Team was called in, said Hallock.

On this basis, they treated the situation as a domestic barricade.

Then two shots rang out.

Sharpshooters entered the house and found the bodies of the man and child as well as a handgun.

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City News Service contributed to this report.