Brea Man Arrested on Suspicion of Murder in Shooting of Former Wife

A 50-year-old pharmacologist was arrested on suspicion of murder after he told a telephone operator that he had fatally shot his ex-wife, police said Monday.

Charles Desylva Villacres is being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. His ex-wife, Linda (Pat) Grace Villacres, 54, was pronounced dead by paramedics who rushed late Sunday night to the house the divorced couple still shared on the 800 block of North Grand Canyon.

Brea Police Lt. Cliff Trimble said investigators believe that the victim--vice president of a major real estate management company--died from a gunshot wound to the back of her head.

Trimble said the shooting apparently was triggered by an “unknown domestic dispute.” The suspect, he added, has not been cooperative since telephoning a directory assistance operator at 11:23 p.m. Sunday to report that he had just shot his ex-wife.

Four minutes after the telephone call, police arrived at the brown stucco-and-wood tract home in the quiet Heritage Hills neighborhood and found the woman’s body in the hallway of the second story.

Trimble said numerous shots had been fired inside the house. Police seized a .38-caliber automatic handgun believed to be the murder weapon, he said.

Several neighbors who live near the Villacres’ home said they were awakened by the sound of gunfire.

“It was really loud, like a ‘pop, pop’ and then a pause . . . and then it happened again,” said Laurie Bourne, who lives two houses away.

The gunshots were almost immediately followed by the wail of sirens from police and ambulance units, stirring up the sleepy canyon community.

“All morning at work I kept thinking about it,” said next-door neighbor John Amezquita, who was part of a small crowd of bewildered onlookers Sunday night. “I didn’t want to come back here this afternoon.”

Charles and Linda Villacres had each been married once before their marriage in December, 1972, friends said. Linda Villacres had three children from her previous marriage, and Charles Villacres had two. Neighbors said none of the children lived at the Villacres’ home in the 12 years that the couple resided there.

They said the two continued to live in the same house even after they were legally separated in June, 1983, and divorced about two years later.

“She and Chuck were very good friends,” said Janet Maybrier, a friend and colleague of Linda Villacres. “They had an unusual relationship because they were divorced and still on very friendly terms. They had agreed on sharing the same house . . . because it’s very dangerous for a woman to be living alone in such a big house.”

Amezquita said Charles Villacres was a Vietnam War veteran who was battling problems with alcohol.

Friends and colleagues described Linda Villacres as “the perfect executive,” a tough, sophisticated woman who drove a Mercedes-Benz and played golf on Sundays.