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Man killed parents, sister in murder-suicide, O.C. authorities believe

The bodies of four family members were found Tuesday at an upscale home in Mission Viejo. Authorities believe Michael Harrison Davis Sheer, 21, shot his parents and teenage sister to death before killing himself.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Detectives on Thursday identified all four members of an Orange County family as victims in a murder-suicide that stunned a hillside Mission Viejo community.

The victims are: Mark Harrison Sheer, 55; Lydia Ann Sheer, 54; Michael Harrison Davis Sheer, 21; and Amy Joanne Sheer, 15. They all lived together in the 25600 block of Pacific Hills Drive.

An initial investigation and evidence inside the home led investigators to suspect Michael Sheer of firing a shotgun at his parents and sister before turning the weapon on himself, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

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Early Monday morning deputies responded to reports of gunshots and a man yelling in the area near Pacific Hills Road, an upscale area in southern Orange County.

They patrolled the neighborhood for several minutes, but did not find anything amiss.

A relative discovered the victims and called 911 shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Following a preliminary death investigation by the Orange County coroner’s office, the calls reporting the shots appears consistent with the estimated time of death for the Sheers, though autopsies are pending, according to the sheriff’s department.

The investigation continues and a motive for the apparent murder-suicide has yet to be determined.

Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to call the sheriff’s department’s homicide unit at (714) 647-7055.

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