Murder Plot Suspected in Fatal Crash in Sun Valley

A car crash that killed a Saugus secretary and critically injured her 18-year-old daughter apparently was “arranged” in an attempt to kill them both and cover up the crime, Los Angeles police said Friday.

An autopsy Friday determined that Claire Laurence Peernock, 45, died before the crash from blows to the head that “were not consistent” with injuries that probably would have resulted from the collision of her husband’s 1971 Cadillac into a utility pole Wednesday in Sun Valley, police said.

Her daughter Natasha was listed in critical condition with cuts and head injuries Friday in Holy Cross Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police have interviewed Natasha, but would not comment on her statements.

Car Soaked With Gasoline

The mother, daughter and the interior of the car were found soaked with gasoline, police said.

“It appears that the traffic accident was arranged with the idea of having the car engulfed in flames to destroy any evidence,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Bernard D. Conine.

The lieutenant would not disclose how the car was rigged to burst into flames in the collision. It did not, he said.

Police were attempting to locate and question the dead woman’s estranged husband, a retired pyrotechnics engineer who is “the prime suspect” in the crime, Conine said.

Motive Not Determined

A motive for the alleged murder scheme has not been determined, he said. The husband, Robert Peernock, 50, of Tarzana, had been separated from his wife for several years and the two recently became involved in divorce proceedings, Conine said.

At first, police believed the crash off San Fernando Road near Tuxford Street was an accident, Conine said. It occurred about 4:30 a.m., and there was evidence that the driver, Claire Peernock, had been drinking, he said.

But detectives were suspicious because of the strong smell of gasoline in the automobile’s passenger compartment, the lieutenant said.

Further investigation spurred more questions, he said: Peernock’s friends had never seen her drunk and knew her as someone who rarely would be out at that hour of the morning.

The crash also took place off an old, remote section of San Fernando Road, and there was no logical reason for the mother’s and daughter’s presence at that hour, he said.

Detectives now believe that whoever arranged the crash tried to make it look as if Claire Peernock, who also was known to dislike driving on the freeway at night, had been drinking, Conine said. Her blood is being tested for alcohol, he said.

The couple also had a 9-year-old daughter, who was living with her father, Conine said.

Although the Peernock couple was separated, the husband had continued to provide financial support to his wife and elder daughter, a recent graduate of Saugus High School, Conine said.