Family of 5 Found Dead Inside Home in Lancaster : Crime: Father killed his wife and three daughters before turning gun on himself, deputies say.

A Lancaster man stabbed his eldest daughter to death, fatally shot his wife and two other daughters, then used the gun to kill himself Monday, sheriff’s deputies say.

Authorities in the Antelope Valley said they had no idea why Roy J. Anderson, 39, opened fire with a .38-caliber handgun inside the family’s modest stucco house in the 43600 block of Carefree Court. The two younger daughters were shot in the head; Roy Anderson shot himself under the chin, deputies said.

Neighbors said the couple had separated about a year ago but that his wife, Deborah A. Anderson, 40, and daughters moved back home last fall. One neighbor said Roy Anderson became quiet and seemed introverted after his wife and daughters had moved out.

“It’s a gruesome scene,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Denham. “In a quiet neighborhood like this, it’s really out of the ordinary.”

Killed in addition to Roy and Deborah Anderson were their daughters Melissa, 20, Amy, 17, and Heather, 15, according to family friends and neighbors.

Roy Anderson worked as an electronics mechanic for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Edwards Air Force Base, a base spokesman said. Deborah Anderson was a secretary at Branch Elementary School on the base, according to a school official. Melissa was a graduate of Desert High School, a public school on the base that her sisters attended. They were described as avid volleyball players. Amy was a star player for the Desert High Scorpions volleyball team, friends said.

“The girls were all very joyful “ said Scott Rindfleisch, who lived across the street. Friends said Melissa Anderson was planning to marry a local real estate agent.

The bodies were discovered about 11:45 a.m. by Deputy John O’Neal after deputies received a call that Deborah Anderson failed to show up for work.

Roy Anderson apparently began shooting Monday morning as the family prepared to leave for work and school, Denham said. All five were dressed and it appeared that the family had been making breakfast, he said.

O’Neal found two bodies at the base of a stairwell, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Dirk Edmundson. Roy Anderson and another victim lay dead on the floor of the family room, he said. They all had gunshot wounds.

Melissa Anderson was found stabbed to death in the master bedroom of the two-story house. The pattern of her wounds indicated she had struggled with her father before her death, Denham said.

Three bloodstained kitchen knives were found on the floor of the bedroom next to the bed, Edmundson said.

The slayings stunned the usually quiet, middle-class neighborhood on the city’s east side.

A crowd of curious children on bicycles and skateboards clogged the street in front of the Anderson house waiting for a glimpse of bodies draped in sheets.

Adults stood farther back, shaking their heads in disbelief and talking quietly among themselves.

No one recalls hearing the shots.

“You could tell they were a typical all-American family,” said Rindfleisch, who played football with the family at a block party soon after the neighborhood was built about two years ago. “We’re all in a sense of horror at what we heard of what went on inside.”

Rindfleisch said Anderson spent much of his time on home-improvement projects, such as repainting the house, but was rarely seen outside the house after the family breakup.

Some neighbors said Anderson became a virtual recluse, lifting weights and responding to neighbors’ greetings with curt, but polite, answers.

Others described the father as a disciplinarian who yelled at his daughters to keep the house tidy.

“I used to think he ran that household like a military guy, like a platoon leader,” said neighbor Duncan Priest.

Lisa Kroft, a family friend, said Melissa Anderson graduated from Desert High School in 1988. She had been working at Sand Canyon Travel in Canyon Country since September.

“She was a very good person--personable, friendly,” a co-worker said. “She was a conscientious worker.”

Kroft said she stopped by the family’s house Friday night to pick up Melissa to go shopping. While there, she heard Roy and Deborah arguing for about five minutes.

It appeared the father wanted to go to some kind of sporting event and the mother did not want to go, Kroft said. But Melissa appeared her usual self.

“She was in a good mood,” Kroft said. “She was as happy as ever.”

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Aaron Curtiss and Leslie Berger.