Mental Troubles Cited in Murder-Suicide : Simi Valley: The woman was arrested last year for setting fire to her home. Her daughter is remembered as ‘very happy.’

A mother who shot and killed her 15-year-old daughter in Simi Valley before taking her own life had a history of mental problems, authorities said Thursday.

“Obviously, with what happened, she was a time bomb waiting to go off,” said Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon, who prosecuted 45-year-old Karen Marie Christensen for setting fire to her Simi Valley house last year.

On Wednesday, Christensen shot and killed her teen-age daughter, Emily, as the girl prepared for her graduation from Sinaloa Junior High School, and then turned the gun on herself. The incident occurred at the home of a Simi Valley family who Emily had been living with for the past three years.

The victims’ bodies were discovered in an upstairs bedroom of the house in the 500 block of Pinecliff Place about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday by Janet Leslie Warnick, the owner of the residence and Emily’s legal guardian.

Authorities said both victims died of gunshot wounds to the head. A .44-caliber magnum revolver was found in Karen Christensen’s hand.

Simi Valley police said Thursday that they had not established a motive for the deaths. But Lt. Robert Klamser said Karen Christensen had been arrested in February,

1990, by Simi Valley police in connection with a fire that she later admitted starting at her Tuttle Avenue home.

Christensen was sentenced in April to 30 days in jail and three years on probation for the crime, said Simon, the prosecutor in the case.

The sentencing was delayed because Christensen, who had been in and out of a Los Angeles County mental hospital after setting the fire, had attempted to kill herself on at least two occasions.

Meanwhile, friends and members of Emily’s adopted family were still in shock Thursday over her death.

“She was like my little sister,” said a visibly shaken Charles Warnick, 21, who referred to himself as Emily’s stepbrother. “I’ve known her my whole life.”

The Christensen and Warnick families have known each other for more than 15 years, he said.

Charles Warnick said Emily had moved in with his family about three years ago, shortly after her parents were divorced.

He said Karen Christensen had been having emotional problems since the divorce and was unable to take care of her daughter. She had been staying with relatives in Tarzana before the incident Wednesday.

“She was glad that we could take Emily in,” Warnick said. “But then she was mad because she wished she could” take care of her daughter.

Warnick said Emily had a troubled relationship with her mother.

“They seemed like they always argued,” he said, adding that Emily’s mother visited her about once a month.

Warnick described the teen-ager as “very happy, full of life. She had a boyfriend and a lot of friends.”

The last time he saw Emily, Warnick said, was immediately before he left for work Wednesday morning.

“Nothing seemed wrong,” he said. “It was all normal.”

He said Emily was apparently getting ready for her graduation ceremony when her mother came to the house.

“There was nobody here but Emily,” he said. “Her mother just came over here and shot her and shot herself. My mom came home and found them and called police.”

Gina Cina, one of Emily’s classmates, was among a few Sinaloa students who heard about the incident and showed up at the house late Wednesday.

“I wondered what had happened when she didn’t show up at graduation,” said Gina, who stood crying in front of the house. “I feel like I’m having a nightmare. This is not true.”

Administrators and teachers at Sinaloa Junior High School were stunned by the news.

“Just the other day at her graduation rehearsal she came up to me and gave me a big hug,” said counselor Tom Muenzer. “She said, ‘Remember when I came here in the seventh grade? Look at me now.’ She was a happy teen-ager, a real bundle of energy.”

Tom Eubanks, Emily’s ninth-grade social studies teacher, said he had known Emily since the seventh grade.

“She was a really good kid,” he said. “She was very popular, a very together kid.

“Her family has had trouble through the years, but you would never know it talking to her,” he said. “Emily was just one of those kids who was so resilient, so full of life.”

Eubanks said the last time he saw Emily was on Tuesday. He said that after her ninth-grade class finished its graduation rehearsal, the students went on an outing to the beach in Ventura.

“She had a blast,” he said. “She played volleyball, soaked up the rays. On the way back she was laughing and joking, listening to rap music.

“She was totally delightful. I will always remember Emily with a big, glowing smile on her face. Rosy cheeks and a big smile.”

FYI

Sinaloa Junior High School Principal Lee Strong said counseling will be provided for students having difficulty coping with the death of Emily Christensen. The school’s psychologist, Linda Vandaveer, will be on campus weekdays through the end of next week to counsel any student who needs assistance. Students should call the school at 526-8730 to set up an appointment.