Hollywood Man Kills 4 in Family, Then Himself

A Hollywood man, reportedly distraught over domestic problems, stabbed his common-law wife to death, then shot and killed his three young children before turning the gun on himself, police said Sunday.

Officers went to an apartment in the 1700 block of North Normandie Avenue at 1:30 p.m. Sunday to check on Rodolfo Meinguer, Maria Ortiz and their three children after Ortiz’s sister had been unable to contact the family for two days, Los Angeles Police Detective Russell Kuster said.

“Officers forcibly entered the locked apartment where they discovered the entire family of five dead on the living room floor and in the bedroom,” Kuster said.

Investigators determined that Meinguer, 40, a supermarket butcher, had apparently stabbed his 28-year-old common-law wife to death in the apartment’s bedroom with a butcher knife, the detective said.

“He then went to the living room where he shot and killed the three children who were sleeping on the floor,” Kuster said. “Later, he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.”

Authorities identified the children as Joe, 3, Rosalyn, 6, and Rodolfo Meinguer, 8. They were shot with a large-caliber handgun, Kuster said.

Eduardo Reyes, the dead woman’s brother-in-law, said Meinguer had called several times Friday insisting that he and Ortiz’s sister visit the apartment that night for a family reunion. Reyes said he believes Meinguer wanted them to come by so that they would discover the dead bodies. Police say the family could have died as early as Friday.

Police said there was evidence that Meinguer had been drinking heavily before the killings. He and Ortiz were Mexican immigrants who had been living in the United States for several years, Kuster said.

Kuster said there was no record of any past domestic violence between the couple, although relatives told investigators the pair had been having problems recently with their relationship.