Couple Found Slain; Few Details Released

Police were investigating the possible murder of a husband and wife who were found dead early Tuesday in their home.

Jose R. Najera and Elena Castro Najera were found by their 19-year-old son, Jose Jr., about 4:30 a.m. after he returned from a night out with friends, Garden Grove Police Lt. John Woods said.

Police released few details about the deaths, saying only that they are treating it as a double murder, not a murder-suicide. They did not say how the Najeras were killed or what motive might exist for the crime.

The neat, modest neighborhood surrounding the Najera home in the 12400 block of Merrill Street was cordoned off most of Tuesday by investigators who dumped the contents of neighbors’ garbage cans onto sheets of plastic and sifted through the piles.

Elena Castro Najera, 46, was a seamstress, and her husband, Jose, 42, was a construction worker, neighbors said. Their son was a graduate of Mater Dei, a Roman Catholic high school in Santa Ana, and is an undergraduate at USC.

“I’m totally shocked,” said neighbor Steve Starke, 35. “I never saw any trouble.”