3 Employees Found Slain in Tustin Auto Parts Store

A manager arriving for work Monday morning discovered the bodies of three young Tustin automotive parts store employees who had been bound and shot in the head at close range in what police described as “execution-style” killings.

Investigators probing the crime scene through the day found no sign of forced entry to the Tustin Avenue building or even of anything taken from the Super Shops store.

“Your first inclination would be a robbery,” said Lt. Houston Williams, heading the investigation for the Tustin Police Department, “but we haven’t been able to determine that anything was missing.”

Two years ago--almost to the day--a Super Shops employee was shot and killed in a Long Beach store by a bandit who fled with $2,600 in cash. That murder was never solved, but police said they have no reason to believe the cases are connected.

Police believe the killings were carried out sometime between the store’s closing at 5 p.m. Sunday and the discovery of the bodies around 9 a.m. Monday, but they are awaiting autopsy results to try to determine a more exact time of death.

The day manager arrived at work to find some things out of order at the front of the store--a box and some loose receipts were on top of a counter. He then discovered the three slain workers in a windowless rear storage area and telephoned police.

Police identified the victims as Darrel Esgar, 22, of Huntington Beach, an assistant manager; Chad Chadwick, 22, of Orange, a salesman; and Russel B. Williams, 21, of Seal Beach, also a salesman. All three were single, police said.

While investigators withheld some details of the killings, they did say that the victims had their hands tied in front of them; one also had his feet bound. They appeared to have been shot at close range with a handgun, Williams said.