Slain Couple Found in Garden Grove Home by Man’s Son

The bodies of a slain couple were found in their home Tuesday afternoon by the man’s 16-year-old son, sheriff’s investigators said.

Authorities ruled out the possibility of a murder/suicide but would not say why. They said the couple had been shot, but they have no motives nor suspects, Sheriff’s Lt. William Francis said.

The couple lived at the home in the 12000 block of Lorna Street with the man’s two children, Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said.

One of them, a student at Garden Grove High School, apparently had been waiting for his father to pick him up from school Tuesday afternoon. When the father didn’t show up, the son called his mother, who brought him home. It was then, at 4:10 p.m., that he discovered the bodies, neighbors said.

“We had a 911 call and the caller stated that there were bodies on the floor,” Olson said. “From the neighbors we have interviewed, it appears that nobody saw or heard anything.”

Authorities did not release names of the victims pending notification of relatives.

But John A. Klecker of Garden Grove said one of the victims was his son, 40-year-old Robert J. Klecker.

The senior Klecker, owner of the house where the slayings occurred, said his son had been renting it from him. John Klecker said his former wife, who lives with him, received a call that their son had been killed.

The elder Klecker said he did not know of any turmoil in his son’s life and did not believe he had any enemies, but he acknowledged he and his son, a welder who grew up in Garden Grove, did not see each other often.

Klecker said his son collected guns, a hobby that made his father nervous.

“He’s a nut for guns, ever since he came out of the Army,” Klecker said. “I’ve told him all the time to get rid of them, but he never did. He’s always fooling around with guns. I just don’t like to see guns around the house when kids are in the house.”

Dozens of stunned neighbors gathered around the house as the investigation unfolded. All said they didn’t know the couple well.

Next-door neighbor Clare Romano said the man had lived at the house for at least five years but she wasn’t sure when his girlfriend moved in.

“He was a very hard worker,” said Romano. “He’s a family man who takes his kids to school and picks them up.”

“We’re really shocked,” said another neighbor, Barbara Doman. “They seemed to be a very happy family. He was real nice, always waving and smiling.”