Jobless Exec Slaughters Family

An unemployed financial manager shot dead his entire family and himself in their San Fernando Valley home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officers found the bodies of the man, his wife, his mother-in-law, and their three sons, ages 19, 12, and 7, after concerned family friends contacted police. The man, part-owner of a financial holding company, left a suicide note for police blaming his actions on financial hardship.

Investigators believe that the stock market collapse triggered the murder-suicide. "This is a perfect American family that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit," said LAPD's deputy chief. "It is critical to step up and recognize we are in some pretty troubled times." (More Los Angeles stories.)