Jan 19, 2008 10:45 am US/Pacific
Deaths Of Mom, Daughter Ruled Murder-Suicide
Police Say Daughter, 8, Drowned At Her Mother's Hands
HERMOSA BEACH (CBS) ―
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The bodies of Marcia Harrigan, 43, and Gillian Harrigan were found about a quarter-mile south of Hearst Beach.
CBS
A Hermosa Beach woman going through a contentious child custody battle drowned her daughter, 8, in the cold surf near Hearst Castle, and then herself, it was reported Saturday. The San Luis Obispo sheriff classified the deaths as a murder-suicide, and said further drug tests are needed before an exact cause of death can be established for Marcia Harrigan, 43, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. But the sheriff's office said Gillian Goldman, 8, was drowned at her mother's hands.
Harrigan was reportedly enmeshed in a nasty court battle with the girl's father, Glenn Goldman of San Diego, and had accused the man of sexually abusing the girl.
Goldman's attorney, Evan Iztkowitz, rejected that. He said Goldman is "heartbroken to learn that Gillian suffered before she and her mother drowned," the Tribune reported.
Rescuers from Cambria rushed to the cliffs overlooking a rugged beach near Hearst Castle Jan. 10, and found the two bodies. Harrigan's sport utility vehicle was parked nearby, filled with balloons from Disney's "High School Musical" show.
Gillian was in second grade at Hermosa Valley Elementary School and attended Hermosa View as a first-grader.
Grief counselors went to the school last week to help children and teachers affected by the second-grader's death. Cambria Fire Department rescue workers who rappelled down a steep cliff to recover the bodies of the little girl and her mother were also undergoing special counseling.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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