Coroner Rules 2 Deaths as Homicide

The two people whose decomposed bodies were found in the home of the man responsible for a gun rampage in a Long Beach supermarket were victims of homicide, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Tuesday.

The man was stabbed in the neck and hit on the head with a blunt object, and the woman died from head trauma.

Neighbors said 48-year old Antonio Pineiro, who was fatally shot by police in the market after killing two people there, lived with his parents, who hadn’t been seen in more than a year.

“Our best guess is that these are his parents because of what neighbors have said,” said Lt. William Blair of the Long Beach Police Department. Coroner’s officials said they will use dental records to make positive identifications.

On Thursday, Pineiro, without warning, began shooting at customers in the Top Valu market, a block from his home.

Three people, including Pineiro, died and four were wounded.

Police investigating the case discovered bodies lying side by side on a bed in Pineiro’s Cedar Avenue home.

Pineiro had said his parents moved to Miami, neighbors said.

“There were some indicators that efforts were made to conceal the odor,” said coroner’s spokesman David Campbell. He would not elaborate.

Neighbors described Pineiro’s parents as friendly.

“She was a sweet, sweet woman who blessed her doorstep before she left the house,” neighbor Paul Cook said last week.

The 5-foot-9, 280-pound Pineiro kept mostly to himself. No one ever visited the quiet man, neighbors said.

Investigators were still searching to understand what triggered the violence.

“At this point, we’re still collecting information,” Blair said. “We just don’t know very much.”

Authorities said 8-year-old Barbara Ibasco, who was at the store to buy ingredients for a chocolate cake, died after she was shot in the head.

Her parents, Myrna and Conrado, were shot and suffered superficial wounds.

Marcela Perez, a mother of four and grandmother of three, had just started her cashier’s shift when Pineiro opened fire and killed her.