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The Homicide Report Blog

Encino: Rosa Elvira Valencia Garcia, 35

By Corina Knoll
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Rosa Elvira Valencia Garcia, a 35-year-old Latina, was shot to death by her husband in their home in the 4800 block of Haskell Avenue in Encino on Sunday, May 31, according to authorities.

Los Angeles police said Garcia’s husband, Pedro Papias, a 41-year-old Latino, then killed himself.

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Their three children, ages 5, 10 and 12, were home at the time of the murder-suicide, which took place shortly after 12:30 p.m., police said.

‘When they heard the gunshots, they ran out of the house with a cordless phone and dialed 911,” said Norma Eisenman, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Papias was arguing with his wife in the moments leading up to their deaths, she said. The bodies of Papias and Valencia were found in the back bedroom. The children are now staying with relatives, authorities said.

-- Corina Knoll

The Homicide Report Blog
Corina Knoll

Corina Knoll is a former reporter for the Metro section of the Los Angeles Times. She was on the team that investigated corruption in Bell — which led to the paper’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize for public service — and went on to cover the trials of the city’s former officials. She later contributed to the paper’s coverage of the San Bernardino terror attack that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. As a regional reporter, she wrote features about the San Gabriel Valley and the Westside. During her courts beat, she covered high-profile criminal cases and civil disputes, including the Jackson family vs AEG and Bryan Stow vs LA Dodgers. She and two colleagues investigated sheriff’s deputies whose histories of misconduct landed them on the department’s top-secret Brady list. She left The Times in January 2019. Raised in the Midwest, she is a graduate of Macalester College.

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