Feelings of Hopelessness Preceded Killings, Friends Say

As a wife caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s, Lucille Bell understands the day-to-day struggle that her neighbor Karl G. Pearson must have felt.

That understanding was voiced by many family members and friends who attended a double funeral Wednesday for the 81-year-old Seal Beach Leisure World resident who shot and killed his ailing wife before turning the gun on himself Friday.

Karl Pearson was apparently concerned about who would care for his wife of 55 years as their health worsened. Velma Pearson, 78, was showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. And Karl Pearson had recently learned he was facing the possibility of a leg amputation because of poor circulation.

Half an hour before the murder-suicide, Bell said she exchanged pleasantries with Karl Pearson and everything seemed normal. The killings took place in a carport outside the couple’s home.

Bell said she thought that most Leisure World residents understood the unique circumstances that led to the killings.

“I think they understand he did it out of love, not anger,” Bell said.

The Leisure World Health Center has offered counseling in the wake of the killings, but as of Tuesday no one in the community had accepted the offer.

Bell’s husband, James, is bedridden, suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease. She said she shares the concerns that Pearson had voiced over the possibility of him and his wife being confined to a care center.

The Alzheimer’s Assn. of Orange County estimates that 50,000 county residents have the disease. Advice for those who care for sufferers includes trying to make sure the care-giving is not handled by only one person.

Bell observed that Karl Pearson was “very stressed” as a caregiver.

Wednesday’s funeral services took place at Westminster Memorial Park on Beach Boulevard. The Pearsons are survived by a son, Michael, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Alex Murashko can be reached at (714) 966-5974.