Thousand Oaks Man Shoots 2, Kills Self

A Thousand Oaks man drove 12 hours from his home to a Utah town with a recently purchased handgun and wounded his estranged wife and her male friend before killing himself, police said.

Gary Atherton broke into his wife’s four-plex apartment about 1:35 a.m. Friday, shot her once in the upper left shoulder and then shot Gilbert McKinley at least twice, said Roy police Lt. Greg Whinham.

Atherton, 42, then pointed the gun at his own head and pulled the trigger, killing himself.

Michelle Atherton, 42, was listed in fair condition at McKay-Dee Hospital on Saturday and was said to be improving. Gilbert McKinley, 42, of Roy, was listed in critical but stable condition.

Inside the car Atherton had rented Thursday in California, police found a note referring to his wife and the intention to take his own life, said Whinham.

He also left written instructions about the care of his dog.

Police believe Michelle Atherton knew she was in danger and had moved to Utah to get away from her husband while she obtained a divorce.

Before marrying Gary Atherton, who owned a gardening business in Thousand Oaks, Michelle Atherton had been a schoolteacher in Roy, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies said Saturday night.

Court records show she had obtained a temporary spouse-abuse protective order against Atherton in 2nd District Court in Utah on Dec. 9. The order was sought after Gary Atherton drove to his wife’s Utah home in late November or early December and threatened to kill her, deputies said.

The order was served by sheriff’s deputies on Atherton at his home in the gated community of Lake Sherwood in Thousand Oaks on Dec. 10, but was dismissed Dec. 23 when neither side showed up for a scheduled hearing, court records showed.

The dismissal came just two days after police said Atherton purchased a .357-caliber revolver in a Thousand Oaks gun store.

About 24 hours before Friday’s shooting, Michelle Atherton called police after learning her husband was coming after her, and extra patrols were assigned to the neighborhood.

Police arrived at her home just two minutes after the 911 call was placed, which probably helped save lives, Whinham said.

A man inside the apartment, believed to be Atherton, shouted at police to stay away from the apartment, then told officers to get an ambulance and encouraged his wife to crawl through the broken glass door of her apartment. Officers surrounding the residence rushed to carry her out of the line of fire.

Roy police Sgt. Kenneth Johnson said the man yelled that police would soon hear a gunshot “and after the shot, we could come into the apartment.”

After the gunshot, officers entered and saw Gary Atherton kneeling on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. McKinley was lying on the floor with wounds to the neck, chest and arm.

“He’s a guy that just went bonkers. If he couldn’t have her, then no one could,” said a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy.

Sheriff’s deputies said they had been called to the couple’s Thousand Oaks home several times during the last year. In each case, Michelle Atherton called 911 operators and said her husband was threatening her, deputies said.