Los Angeles News

PORTER RANCH Crisis response teams Tuesday were dispatched to counsel family members and friends of the six people killed in a murder-suicide.

One-time millionaire Karthik Rajaram had previously showed signs of emotional instability and reportedly became despondent over financial troubles. Rajaram fatally shot his wife, three sons – ages 19, 12 and 7 – and mother-in-law before killing himself, police said.

The shootings took place sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning, when the bodies were discovered in an upscale 2,800-square-foot rental home in the block of 20600 Como Lane.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent David Brewer said in a statement that the "entire Los Angeles Unified School District family is saddened" and would "provide support and assistance to the school staff and students following this unfortunate tragedy as long as needed."

Neighbors told CBS 2 that Rajaram was acting unusual in weeks leading up to the tragedy.

The 45-year-old Porter Ranch financial manager who once made more than $1.2 million in a London-based venture fund had lost his job, as well as money in the stock market.

Police said that on Sept. 16, Rajaram bought a gun. He also wrote two suicide notes and a last will and testament.

"This is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit," Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Michel Moore said.

In a letter addressed to police, Rajaram blamed his actions on economic hardships. A second letter labeled "personal and confidential," was addressed to family friends; the third contained a last will and testament, Moore said.

The letter to police voiced two options: taking his own life, or killing himself and his entire family.

"He talked himself into the second strategy," Moore said. "That that would be the honorable thing to do."

Concern about the family's welfare began Monday morning when Rajaram's wife, 39-year-old Subasri, did not show up for her carpool. Police were notified, and when officers entered the home in the gated, Spanish-style community, they first found the gunman's mother-in-law, Indra
Ramasesham, 69, dead in a downstairs bedroom.

Rajaram's wife and three sons -- Krishna, 19, a sophomore at UCLA majoring in business economics; Ganesha, 12; and Arjuna, 7, all named after Indian gods and warriors -- were discovered in various upstairs bedrooms, all shot in the head, some with multiple gunshot wounds.

Their father was found dead in a bedroom with Ganesha and Arjuna, the gun still in his hand, police said.

Children at nearby Alfred B. Nobel Middle School, where 12-year-old Ganesha Rajaram was a seventh-grade honors student, were sent home with notes informing their parents of the news.

"This one will shake people to the core," Principal Robert Coburn said. "When you think about it, all kids have a mom and dad. And if a father can do this to his kids, it's very scary."

In 2003 and 2004, he worked for Greg Robinson, an entrepreneur and founder of several companies, at Azur Partners LLC, a management-consulting agency.

Robinson told The Times he had to fire Rajaram because "his life wasn't moving in the right direction."

"He had some behavioral problems," Robinson told the newspaper. "He wasn't reliable. ...He was not an emotionally stable person. It was a real problem and would affect any business he was involved in."

Authorities, expressing regret that Rajaram had not sought help, urged residents who feel overwhelmed in the current economic climate to avail themselves of available resources, including the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health's 24-hour hotline, which can be reached at (800) 854-7771.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)