Inside their San Juan Capistrano house, an elderly couple and their dog were discovered dead on Tuesday morning. The suspect, Joseph Brandon Gerdvil, 41, the son of the couple, was shot by Orange County deputies.
At 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, deputies were called about domestic violence at a mobile home park located in the 32000 block of Alipaz Street.
Law enforcement claims that they were also tipped off of a bloodied man pursuing the neighborhood’s groundskeeper.
“To know that our maintenance guy, Billy, was on top of it and had the heroic effort to try to catch the [suspect], that’s awesome,” Victoria Alford stated.
On a golf buggy along a cycle route close to Calle Arroyo, authorities found Gerdvil. He was approached by deputies, and a deputy was shot by one of them. After being hit several times, Gerdvil was brought to the hospital in a critical but stable state.
“He had a drug issue,” Bob Demario stated. “That’s why he lived there and they kept him there.”
Ronald Walter Gerdvil, 77, and Antoinette Gerdvil, 79, were the names of the elderly couple that died. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department reports that the couple, along with their dog, suffered severe head injuries.
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The neighborhood was described as pleasant and calm by the residents of the mobile home park.
“It’s horrifying,” Tammy Pavese stated. “We have a lot of families with small children that live here.”
On Monday, a neighbor named David Desmond claimed to have witnessed the younger Gerdvil fighting with his father.
“Younger guy was in his face, with his finger pointing at him, in his face,” David Desmond stated. “I didn’t hear what they were saying, but he looked really angry and the other guy was old.”
The family was characterized by neighbors as peaceful and amiable.
“The lady that lived there walked her dog all of the time in the neighborhood,” Pavese stated. “Everybody knew who he was.”
“[They were a] very sweet couple,” Alford stated. “And at that age, to tragically be murdered by your own son is just tragic, period.”
