Father dead, 2 children killed in apparent murder-suicide

Father, 2 children dead in murder suicide

A Placentia neighborhood is reeling with shock over a heartbreaking crime. A father stabbing his children to death and then taking his own life.

PLACENTIA, Calif. - More than 12 hours after they were brutally murdered the bodies of nine-year-old twins were wheeled away from their home in Placentia on Wednesday.

Police say 41-year-old Timothy Takehara was responsible for their deaths. He was also their dad.

“It really broke my heart...like why would he do that to the children what was the point it was very sad to see and like hear about it,” said Natascha Vayda.

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The gruesome scene unfolded shortly after midnight inside a house on Swanson Avenue in Placentia.

Police say the girls' mother and grandmother also inside the home at the time.

After the stabbing, police say, Takehara ran across the street where he collapsed and died from stab wounds.

Neighbors can’t understand the horror that unfolded here.

“It sickens me. It’s very sad,” said Billy Vayda.

He has a 10-year-old daughter of his own and says he would often see the children playing outside.

His daughter didn’t know the girls well but is also heartbroken:

“I was freaking out like that is so so sad. I just feel so bad from them,” said Samara Vayda.

Neighbors say the family kept to themselves.

Police confirmed that they have been to the house on at least two previous occasions but it is unclear why and if the family lived there at the time.

Billy Vayda said he snapped this picture of police surrounding the home in September of 2019.

Police say they have seen an increase in domestic violence calls during the pandemic and experts echoed that statistic.

“Our law enforcement partners have received a 25-30 percent increase in calls for help. At Interval House for our crisis hotline our calls for help have nearly tripled,” said Sharon Wie, Program Director Interval House.

Police say they will be looking into surveillance footage taken from the home and how many previous calls were made here and what the nature of those calls were.

Meanwhile, the family and community are in the mourning over the senseless killing of two little girls.