Probe continues in deaths

Authorities are still trying to determine a motive behind the Oct. 16 murder-suicide in which a man and a woman were found shot to death in an apartment in the 4500 block of Lasheart Drive directly across from La Cañada Flintridge City Hall.

The Los Angeles County Coroners officials identified the woman as 39-year-old Genny Herrera, the mother of a La Cañada Elementary School student and the occupant of the apartment where the shooting took place. The name of the man has not been officially released pending notification of family, but colleagues and friends have identified him as Aaron Welch, a mechanic, tow truck driver and longtime La Crescenta resident.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s homicide detective Steve Lankford said that on Friday at approximately 11 a.m. Welch fatally shot Herrera with a handgun, and then took his own life. The shooter made a telephone call to a third party immediately before, or during the incident, Lankford said.

“There was a call that was made from him to another party, and that party then notified the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station,” Lankford said.

Deputies were on site within minutes, forced entry into the apartment and discovered the bodies and the gun on the floor of the front room, Lankford said.

The incident shut down the intersection of Lasheart Drive and Foothill Boulevard for about 45 minutes, and disrupted the afternoon pick-up at La Cañada Elementary School, which is located just two blocks from the apartment. A handful of people spilled out of City Hall, as well as local businesses and residences to watch the investigation.

Ilona Muller, whose property borders City Hall, said she was looking out her back window when she saw half a dozen sheriff’s deputies swarm the four-unit apartment complex with their weapons drawn.

“It was deadly serious,” Muller said. “I couldn’t imagine what was going on. My husband went to look at what was going on and it was clear it was the top apartment.”

Deputies said Friday’s shooting was the first murder in La Cañada since a murder-suicide in May 2004.

Lankford said the nature of the relationship between Welch and Herrera remains unclear.

“There was some type of relationship, how intimate it was, I am not sure,” Lankford said.

Herrera’s sister-in-law, Gabriela Herrera, who was at the apartment on Monday packing up personal items, said she knew nothing about the shooter or the existence of a friendship between the pair.

However, a resident of the apartment complex who asked to remain anonymous said Welch visited the premises multiple times in the weeks before the shooting, and that Herrera had spoken of being worried for her safety. The neighbor added that he had seen Welch trying to force entry into the apartment just two days before the incident. Lankford confirmed that sheriff’s deputies had responded to a domestic disturbance call at the apartment days before the shooting.

Jacci Present, who operates Crescenta Valley Tow in La Crescenta, said she employed Welch on and off for 10 years. Present said she received a phone call from sheriff’s investigators early Friday afternoon notifying her of the incident and asking for personal contact information.

Present described Welch as a hard worker and an excellent mechanic. When it came to his personal life, however, Welch often told conflicting stories, Present said. He provided as many as three different birth dates on employee forms, Present said. He also claimed to have several children by several different women, but no one ever filed for child support, Present added.

“[This incident shows] what a mystery he really is,” Present said. “None of us have ever really known the truth. I wonder if he even knew the truth himself I don’t know if he really ever had that sense of reality.”

Despite this, Present said, she and other colleagues were shocked to hear that Welch was involved in the murder-suicide. She would have never thought him capable of committing a violent crime, she said.

“I was surprised he was the actual shooter Until they show me the fingerprints on that gun, I don’t know if I will believe it.”

John Garden, co-owner of Two Nice Guys Automotive in La Crescenta, said he had known Welch personally and professionally for many years. Welch loved being outdoors, Garden said, and the two met during an off-roading trip when Garden was still in junior high school. Welch would be missed by colleagues and friends, Garden added.

“He always wanted to have a good time, a friendly person,” Garden said. “I think everyone who was around him liked him. I never thought what happened was going to happen. That is definitely not what we expected.”