Few leads in slaying of Ventura County family

[one...two...tree 2,762]

(video)

A man entered the Husteds' beachfront home Wednesday night and fatally stabbed the father and mother -- several months pregnant -- as their son, 9, and daughter, 11, escaped to a neighbor's house.

By Steve Chawkins, LA Times

The intruder climbed a stairway tucked amid the rocks, walked through an open patio door into the beach house and, with repeated knife slashes, thrust a family into a nightmare.

Authorities said Thursday they had no suspect or motive in the slayings at the upscale Faria Beach Colony, a gated community about six miles up the coast from Ventura. The killer stabbed to death a pregnant woman and her husband about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday as their horrified 9-year-old son looked on.

Officials with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said the assailant may have been a stranger, drawn by lights and an open door. He was wearing a motorcycle helmet, but whether he had been riding a motorcycle is unknown.

Brock Husted and his wife Davina, both 42, died at the scene. She was about five or six months pregnant, said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Dennis Carpenter.

According to Carpenter, Davina Husted was in the kitchen when the man entered the living room; he attacked her and then her husband, who came rushing in to help her.

Their son, who was watching TV when the man appeared, fled with his 11-year-old sister to the home of a neighbor, who called police. The children have been taken in by relatives.

Carpenter said police bloodhounds, as well as observers in helicopters and on the ground, scoured the area.

On Thursday, detectives gathered evidence as waves pounded the rocks below the family's home. The murder weapon was still inside. Whether any items had been stolen was unknown.

A gated strip of multimillion-dollar homes beside Pacific Coast Highway, Faria Beach sits across from a set of railroad tracks and down the road from several campgrounds. Transients are often seen in the area, but violent crimes are rare.

Husted and his wife grew up in Ventura County. He owned a wrought-iron business in Santa Barbara, family friends said. She was active in the National Charity League, a women's philanthropic group.

The couple had recently put their extensively remodeled three-bedroom home up for sale to prepare for the new baby. It was listed at $3.25 million.

Brock Husted "had no disputes at work, no disputes in his life, no financial problems and no history of problems," his brother Scott Husted said in an interview outside the beach house. "It's a horrible situation. There's a killer out there who came in and did this to a man and a woman with their children there."

Next door, Bill Stratton, 78, mused over the deceptive feel of security provided by an electronic gate.

"You're really quite vulnerable from the beach," said Stratton, a writer who used to sell scripts to crime shows such as "Vegas" and "Hawaii Five-0."

He said he did not hear anything unusual -- no screams, no loud noises -- from his neighbor's house just a few yards away.

A few houses up the street, Malinda Chouinard, the wife of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, said that sometime after 10 p.m., she and her husband heard furniture being shoved around and doors in their home opening and closing. She assumed it was their houseguest -- but later, when helicopters were churning overhead and a reverse 911 call ordered residents to stay inside and lock their doors, they grew worried.

"Clearly, someone was in my house," she said. Hours later, they learned that their guest had been stopped at a police blockade and did not make it to their home until 4 a.m.

Police searched the house twice but found nothing.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ve...story?track=rss

[Peikko 1,575]

Why? Because he called them a man and a woman and not my brother/sister in law?

[Ban Hammer 13,364]

tragic. i wish they had a firearm to defend themselves with.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why? Because he called them a man and a woman and not my brother/sister in law?

That was odd, but also some other things to consider, the killer took nothing so no motive but knew how to get into their home quickly and leave quickly. IMO, someone hired him to kill them. The brother seemed way too calm and collective...and what he said sounded like a prepared speech. According the news report, they had no known grievances with anyone. Somebody wanted them dead and my hunch is that the brother will soon be the primary suspect.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

tragic. i wish they had a firearm to defend themselves with.

Charles, the woman was at least 5 months pregnant and the perpetrator had the element of surprise. I think it's a faulty assumption that owning a firearm is sure bet at preventing someone from attacking you. I think a family dog with keen senses would have been their best protection.

[Peikko 1,575]

Why hire the brother to kill them? Is he a trained killer?

[Ban Hammer 13,364]

tragic. i wish they had a firearm to defend themselves with.

Charles, the woman was at least 5 months pregnant and the perpetrator had the element of surprise. I think it's a faulty assumption that owning a firearm is sure bet at preventing someone from attacking you. I think a family dog with keen senses would have been their best protection.

it sure beats what they had, eh? nada!

Why hire the brother to kill them? Is he a trained killer?

maybe the wife was pregnant with the brother's kid?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why hire the brother to kill them? Is he a trained killer?

? I said, I believe the brother hired the perpetrator to kill them. As for motive - hopefully detectives will be able to figure one out. I know it's just speculation at this point, but the way the perpetrator entered and left without taking anything...99 percent of the time it is a hit job and a family member is behind the plot.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

tragic. i wish they had a firearm to defend themselves with.

Charles, the woman was at least 5 months pregnant and the perpetrator had the element of surprise. I think it's a faulty assumption that owning a firearm is sure bet at preventing someone from attacking you. I think a family dog with keen senses would have been their best protection.

it sure beats what they had, eh? nada!

A family dog with keen sense trumps owning any firearm in terms of preventing a perpetrator having the element of surprise.

[Peikko 1,575]

Unless you have a 'shoot first' ask questions later policy no matter what the situation, having a gun is not certain to have change the outcome. Why you think it's a good idea to introduce this wild red herring speculation is anyone's guess. Did they 'deserve' being murdered because they didn't use a gun? We don't even know they didn't have one in the house. Seriously, speculating on something that 'might' have changed the outcome with no facts is the height of nonsense.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Unless you have a 'shoot first' ask questions later policy no matter what the situation, having a gun is not certain to have change the outcome. Why you think it's a good idea to introduce this wild red herring speculation is anyone's guess. Did they 'deserve' being murdered because they didn't use a gun? We don't even know they didn't have one in the house. Seriously, speculating on something that 'might' have changed the outcome with no facts is the height of nonsense.

I think it's fair to speculate and I don't think Charles is minimizing the tragedy by it.

[Peikko 1,575]

Why hire the brother to kill them? Is he a trained killer?

? I said, I believe the brother hired the perpetrator to kill them. As for motive - hopefully detectives will be able to figure one out. I know it's just speculation at this point, but the way the perpetrator entered and left without taking anything...99 percent of the time it is a hit job and a family member is behind the plot.

Most murders are not random, that's for sure.

Unless you have a 'shoot first' ask questions later policy no matter what the situation, having a gun is not certain to have change the outcome. Why you think it's a good idea to introduce this wild red herring speculation is anyone's guess. Did they 'deserve' being murdered because they didn't use a gun? We don't even know they didn't have one in the house. Seriously, speculating on something that 'might' have changed the outcome with no facts is the height of nonsense.

I think it's fair to speculate and I don't think Charles is minimizing the tragedy by it.

Sure, let's speculate some more. What if they had had a moat? A body guard? A phalanx of Roman Soldiers...useful, isn't it?

Edited May 22, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why hire the brother to kill them? Is he a trained killer?

? I said, I believe the brother hired the perpetrator to kill them. As for motive - hopefully detectives will be able to figure one out. I know it's just speculation at this point, but the way the perpetrator entered and left without taking anything...99 percent of the time it is a hit job and a family member is behind the plot.

Most murders are not random, that's for sure.

Yep. I watched too many Dateline episodes....there's almost always a motive.

Sure, let's speculate some more. What if they had had a moat? A body guard? A phalanx of Roman Soldiers...useful, isn't it?

Or body armor?

[Peikko 1,575]

Oh, it's such a shame they didn't have a burglar alarm, night vision goggles, pepper spray, a tank...

I don't think Charles' intention is to minimize the tragedy, no, but it sure is a wild tangent.

[Ban Hammer 13,364]

Unless you have a 'shoot first' ask questions later policy no matter what the situation, having a gun is not certain to have change the outcome. Why you think it's a good idea to introduce this wild red herring speculation is anyone's guess. Did they 'deserve' being murdered because they didn't use a gun? We don't even know they didn't have one in the house. Seriously, speculating on something that 'might' have changed the outcome with no facts is the height of nonsense.

don't be silly. one does not need to shoot a firearm to deter a crime. quite often, the mere presentation of the capability of deadly force deters those with criminal intent.

and no one that i know of suggested that they deserved anything.

Oh, it's such a shame they didn't have a burglar alarm, night vision goggles, pepper spray, a tank...

I don't think Charles' intention is to minimize the tragedy, no, but it sure is a wild tangent.

it's called an opinion. are you going to proceed with the spanish inquisition because i offered one?