Malibu: Homicide now suspected in couple’s deaths

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Robert Callender, a 63-year-old white man, and his wife, Barbara Callender, a 62-year-old white woman, from Simi Valley were found dead near their car about 600 feet down a ravine off Malibu Canyon Road on Sept. 7, 2007, about a month after they went missing.

Authorities initially believed the couple had died in a traffic accident. But on Friday, Oct. 3, detectives said that evidence found in the couple’s SUV led them to treat the deaths as homicides.

‘We have physical evidence that shows it was homicide,’ said Lt. Liam Gallagher of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He declined to say what kind of evidence was found or how the couple was killed.

The Callenders had lived in Simi Valley for more than 30 years. Robert Callender owned an information technology support company in Burbank.

—Amanda Covarrubias