Motive a Mystery in Slaying-Suicide Case : Crime: Man left no note before apparently shooting his wife, daughter, then himself. Lockhat family stood apart in an otherwise close-knit Seal Beach neighborhood.

A 64-year-old retired businessman apparently shot his wife and daughter and then turned the gun on himself, leaving investigators and neighbors baffled about the reason for the slayings.

“The thing about this case is that there is no suicide note, no health problems, no financial problems, no indication of a struggle--nothing,” Seal Beach Police Lt. Kenny Mollohan said. “We don’t have a motive.”

Moosa Lockhat, who sold his Cerritos clothing store a few months ago, was found in the family’s living room with a gunshot wound to the right side of his head about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, police said. He had a 38-caliber revolver in his right hand when officers arrived at the home.

Amine Lockhat was lying on a couch next to her husband with two gunshot wounds to the right temple and chest. The couple’s 32-year-old daughter, Zubeida Patel, also was shot in the forehead and chest while sitting in a chair in a downstairs bedroom, investigators said.

The couple’s 36-year-old son, Ebrahim Lockhat, had come by the Hazelnut Avenue home Tuesday night to check on his family after being unable to reach anyone by phone earlier in the day.

Entering through the garage, Ebrahim Lockhat walked through the dining room to a split-level living room and found the bodies, police said. The son called 911.

Police said the father had phoned Ebrahim Lockhat at his Buena Park home about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and left a message asking his son to come over.

Moosa Lockhat “didn’t say why he wanted to see his son and he didn’t sound upset,” Mollohan said.

The slayings are the city’s second homicide case this year. There was no sign of a robbery or break-in, police said.

Neighbors, many of whom have lived on Hazelnut Avenue for as long as 30 years, pride themselves on their close-knit neighborhood. Some neighbors routinely trade house keys with each other and keep a watchful eye when residents go out of town.

But neighbors said the Lockhats were an exception, rarely speaking to others on the street and never joining in block parties over the years. The family’s landlord said he only saw Moosa Lockhat once in the 10 to 15 years the family has lived in the home.

Those who lived on either side of the slain family’s home weren’t even sure of their names.

“I’ve lived here several years and I’ve never seen the wife, not once,” said Matt Jaroscak, a Los Angeles Police Department officer, whose home was used by police and the Lockhat’s son and other relatives during the early hours of the investigation.

“Stoic is the way I would describe him,” Jaroscak said of Ebrahim Lockhat. “He was trying to keep it together.”

The family’s friends and extended relatives, many of whom declined to be interviewed, crowded into Jaroscak’s home after the bodies were found and stayed until about 4 a.m., Jaroscak said.

“They had a lot of relatives and friends from church with them,” Jaroscak said.

Other residents were shaken by the killings, and puzzled over what might have led to the deaths of their quiet neighbors.

“They’ve just never been a part of the neighborhood,” said Diane Decker, a 30-year resident. “You never saw them. Most people didn’t even know their names. It’s really kind of sad that you can live so close to someone and not know them.”