Deaths of Costa Mesa Mother and Teen Son Called Murder-Suicide

Police said Thursday they believe a woman and teen-age boy found dead in their apartment Wednesday afternoon were victims of a murder-suicide.

Coroner’s officials did not identify the pair, but neighbors said the two people who had been living in the apartment were Jennifer Holland, 32, and her son, Alex Holland, 13. Officials said they were waiting for dental records to help establish a positive identification.

Police found the bodies about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at 2225 Canyon Drive. Holland’s boss at Telefax Credit Reporting Co. in Costa Mesa reported her missing earlier that day and police went inside the apartment to check on her.

The woman died of asphyxiation, but the cause of death for the boy is not known, pending further tests by the coroner’s office.

Officers found two portable barbecues in the upstairs master bedroom of the apartment, which they suspect emitted enough carbon monoxide to kill both people. The door and windows of the room were sealed shut and investigators found two sets of notes in the two-story apartment, Sgt. Mike Millington said.

The woman, whom neighbors described as devoted to her son, wrote two notes in which she “clearly indicated she was taking her own life and the life of the youth,” Millington said. In the notes, she cited “personal problems,” but police did not elaborate or release the contents of the missives.

Both bodies were decomposed, police said, indicating that they had been dead for several days. Jennifer Holland was last seen alive on Saturday, authorities said.

Bill Gruff, 44, one of Holland’s neighbors, shook his head when hearing about the deaths. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “They were inseparable.”

Her son “was all she had. . . . They always went (places) together.”