Child Reports Shots That Killed Parents

An 8-year-old boy, awakened by gunfire, discovered his mother bleeding from the head, called police and ran outside. Police said they later found both the bodies of both his parents in their bedroom Friday morning, apparently the victims of a murder-suicide.

The child called 911 at 11:34 p.m. to report his mother’s injury, said Orange Police Sgt. Bob Gustafson. When police arrived two minutes later, the child ran out of the apartment and officers sealed off the area.

For nine hours, they tried to contact the father. Finally, they stormed the upstairs apartment about 9:15 a.m. and discovered the body of Larry Eugene Wardlow, 38, and his wife, Elva Figueroa Wardlow, 32.

After brief questioning, the 8-year-old was taken to the Orangewood Children’s Home where he is being held in protective custody.

“He said he could see his mother bleeding from her face and it looks like she was shot in the head,” Gustafson said. “He said his dad was still in the apartment and that he could see him rolling on the floor.”

Gustafson said police discovered Larry Wardlow’s body on the bedroom floor. His wife was stretched out on their bed. A .38-caliber revolver believed to be the murder weapon was found nearby.

Gustafson said investigators believe that Larry Wardlow killed himself moments after he fatally shot his wife.

Since last August, officers had gone to the Wardlows’ home in the 700 block of North Kathleen Street three times to investigate domestic disturbances, Gustafson said. The most recent call was several days ago, he said.

Neighbors said the couple moved into the apartment building last August. Larry Wardlow worked as a supervisor in a Santa Ana machine shop, while his wife worked for a Costa Mesa packaging company, neighbors said.

Terrie Egkan, who lives in an adjacent apartment, said Elva Wardlow summoned police several months ago after Larry threw a knife at their son, James.

Then, “they had another dispute . . . and Elva and James had left for a long time,” Egkan said. “But a few days ago, I saw they were bringing back Elva’s stuff into the house.”

Egkan said she recently warned Elva Wardlow that her husband had threatened to kill her.

“She was a nice woman. . . . I wished she had listened to me and left,” Egkan said, burying her face in her hands. “But she kept saying that Larry had changed, and that she was going to make their marriage work for James.”

Neighbors gathered outside the building Friday to talk about the tragedy and the night’s activities.

Jude Nichol, 47, said she returned home about midnight and discovered that police had sealed off her street and evacuated the Wardlow’s building and the four-plexes on either side. Nichol said she spent the night trying unsuccessfully to sleep in her car.

Standing in front of her apartment, Nichol looked on as an Orange detective discovered a shoulder holster in Larry Wardlow’s beige Datsun pickup truck.

Shaking her head, she said: “It’s awful. He had no right to kill his wife . . . and the little boy saw something he should not have seen. That’s awful because he is going to live with that for the rest of his life.”