College Student Found Slain, His Younger Brother Missing

A college student was shot to death on New Year’s Eve in his family home in Agoura Hills and his younger brother has disappeared, authorities reported Wednesday.

The bullet-riddled body of Michael Minkoff, 20, an engineering student at Moorpark College, was found about 11:30 a.m. Sunday on the kitchen floor of the house in the 28900 block of Dargan Street, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Roger Hom said.

The victim’s brother, Bradley, 18, is missing, along with the family’s Volvo, the deputy said.

Detectives want to question the younger brother about the shooting, but they have not ruled out the possibility that he could be a victim as well, Hom said.

“There’s always been sibling rivalry” between the two brothers, Sgt. Bill Gaynor said, “but I don’t know there was enough to kill.”

Investigators said they found no weapons and there was no indication of forced entry into the home.

Michael Minkoff’s body was found by deputies sent to the one-story stucco home in response to a 911 call that apparently was placed by the victim, Gaynor said.

“He didn’t say anything,” Gaynor said.

However, the address of the location from which a 911 call is made appears on a monitor screen at the dispatch office, the sergeant said. When deputies arrived, the phone was off the hook, he added.

Gaynor said neighbors did not report hearing or seeing anything unusual.

The parents, Barbara and David Minkoff, were vacationing in Mexico. They were told of the shooting by deputies who met them as they arrived late Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, Gaynor said.