FULLERTON : Wrench Found May Be Murder Weapon

A wrench believed to have been used in the killings of three family members was found by a homeless woman two days after the murders occurred, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The tool was discovered Nov. 8 in a trash bin in the 1800 block of West Commonwealth Avenue.

It was marked with a distinctive symbol that police say matches the one used by suspect Edward Charles III, a gas station mechanic, to identify his tools.

“The symbol looked like it was hand-done with an etching tool,” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Sgt. Curtis Boyer said.

“It was the same as the symbol on the tools we found in his toolbox at work,” Boyer said. “If it does indeed have the victims’ blood, that’s a strong indication” that it could be the murder weapon.

Officials described the symbol as a circle with a curved line through it, with a dot on either side of the line.

Charles was arrested Nov. 8 and charged with killing his parents, Edward Charles II and Dolores Charles, and his brother, Danny Charles.

Their bodies were discovered Nov. 7 in a burning car in the parking lot of a La Mirada continuation school.

Authorities say the father and brother were bludgeoned. Danny Charles was also stabbed and choked, and Dolores Charles showed signs of having been choked, they say.

Charles pleaded not guilty to the charges in a hearing this week and is being held without bail.

The wrench and several other items were found by LeAnn Pollaccia in a trash bin, authorities said.

Pollaccia took the wrench, two necklaces and a pair of sunglasses. After finding out that a mechanic had been arrested in connection with the murders, Pollaccia turned the items over to the Police Department.

Pollaccia told police the dumpster also contained some clothes, towels and a blue bucket, all of which appeared to be stained with blood, and a pair of prescription sunglasses. When police went to the dumpster, the other items were gone.

Boyer said sheriff’s deputies showed the recovered items to Dolores Charles’ father, but he could not identify them as belonging to either the victims or the suspect, his grandson.