Monday, February 14, 2011

Sacramento, CA: Foothill Farms woman killed, daughter wounded; husband in custody

hsangree@sacbee.com

PUBLISHED MONDAY, FEB. 14, 2011


Neighbors on a quiet circle near Greenback Lane came home from church and breakfast on a spring-like Sunday morning to find yellow police tape and emergency vehicles blocking their street.

Investigators say John M. Pierce, 36, a resident of Valparaiso Circle, fatally shot his wife in the head and wounded her 11-year-old daughter before calmly surrendering to Sacramento sheriff's deputies.

The couple's 5-year-old twin boys were in the house during the shooting, they said.

The events unfolded about 11 a.m. in the neighborhood not far from Interstate 80. Investigators said the suspect tried for as yet unknown reasons to tie up his wife.

The woman's 11-year-old daughter attempted to call 911, but the suspect shot her in an arm as she reached for the phone, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

She ran across the street to a neighbor's house and said her father had shot her, Ramos said.

Deputies arrived minutes after an emergency call at 11:12 a.m., he said.

The suspect threw his disassembled semiautomatic handgun out the front door and was taken into custody without incident, Ramos said.

"He had a very calm demeanor," Ramos said.

The woman died of a single gunshot to the head, he said. Her body was discovered near the home's front door.

The bullet that struck the girl tore through her upper right arm, but her injuries were not expected to be life-threatening, Ramos said.

She was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, he said.

Pierce was detained at the scene and arrested after being interviewed by homicide detectives. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on one count of murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

Pierce had no known criminal record, and there were no prior disturbance calls to the residence, Ramos said.

Authorities did not release the names of the victims.

Property records indicate the house in the 5300 block of Valparaiso Circle is occupied by Pierce and Tiffany Marie O'Hanlon, 37.

O'Hanlon holds a license from the state Bureau of Barbering and Cosmetology, public records show.

Relatives of O'Hanlon and Pierce could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Neighbors knew little about the occupants of the home with an American flag and a silver sedan in the driveway. They said the couple, whose names they did not know, kept to themselves and there was never any commotion from the house.

Ron Dike, a 50-year resident, said it was a good area with "a lot of church-going folk."

Walter Best, 64, lives a few houses away from the shooting scene. He said he often saw the 11-year-old girl playing in the street.

"We waved all the time," he said. "She sold me candy from school. She was very friendly."

The girl would come to visit his golden retriever, Rocky, in his front yard, Best said.

He shook his head at the thought of her being shot.

After the shooting the 5-year-old twin boys were taken to the nearby home of Shane Beck and his fiancée, Jennifer Moran.

The couple said they didn't know their neighbors but had just come home from breakfast and were out front when deputies needed a place to move the children from the crime scene.

The boys, who were found in a bedroom, may have witnessed their mother being killed, investigators said.

"They know," Beck said.

The boys ate popcorn and watched TV and played games at his house, Beck said.

The twins were carried from the home wrapped in Mickey Mouse blankets by a deputy and a caseworker with Child Protective Services. They were put inside a waiting sedan and driven away by the CPS worker.

"It's sad. It's crazy," Beck said. "You feel bad for the kids. That's what hurts the worst."


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