American Idol executive Robin Kaye and her husband were found murdered inside their multi-million-dollar Los Angeles home Monday, and now police are trying to piece together what exactly happened.
Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, were pronounced dead inside their house in the Encino section of LA while authorities were conducting a welfare check Monday afternoon, authorities have confirmed.
A suspect has been arrested, and police believe the couple was shot and killed after interrupting a burglary at their home.
What happened?
Police found Kaye and Deluca, both 70, with gunshot wounds to the head. The couple had not been seen for several days, and officers discovered them during a welfare check at the home in the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue.
TMZ reported, citing unnamed police sources, that the couple was found in different rooms of their home. Blood was spotted at the front entrance, according to the website’s report.
NBC4 Los Angeles reported on the death of a man and a woman in Encino, with details matching Kaye and Deluca’s case. The station reported the man was found in a bathroom, and the woman was found in the pantry.
Neighbor Amee Faggen told the local outlet, "We didn’t hear anything.”
"My renter saw somebody hopping the fence, but that was back on Thursday. She called 911, but we didn’t hear anything since then, so we have no idea if it's even related or not.”
Police believe that the shooting took place on Thursday, with the suspect entering the home through an unlocked door.
The owner of The Bodyguard Group of Beverly Hills, a security company, stated that Kaye had recently contacted them over concerns for her safety.
“She felt threatened by somebody because of somebody around their home or around their neighborhood who felt suspicious,” owner Kris Herzog told NBC Los Angeles.
Are there any suspects?
Police identified the suspect in the double homicide as Raymond Boodarian, 22, also a resident of Encino.
In a statement Tuesday, police said Boodarian was “taken into custody without incident”. Investigators are trying to determine if Boodarian had any connection to the couple. They are also looking into whether he “was involved in any past calls for service at the White Oak residence.”
Boodarian has been accused of violent crimes in the past but has never been prosecuted, reports CBS Los Angeles.
ABC Los Angeles reports that authorities do not believe that Boodarian is connected to any local burglary rings and are treating the shooting as an isolated incident.
Police said, “It is now believed that the suspect gained entrance through an unlocked door. The victims returned home while the suspect was in their residence, and a confrontation ensued, which resulted in the suspect taking their lives.”
“The victims succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds,” police said. “The suspect then fled the residence on foot.”
The suspect was in the home for 30 minutes before the slain couple returned.
Authorities have said that Boodarian was identified through facial recognition technology.
The couple’s deaths are being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Bureau Homicide Division.
LAPD Lieutenant Guy Golan said that officers were stifled in their attempts to respond to the initial burlgarly call as the home was “highly fortified.” Golan said that an aircraft performed as pass over the home and no signs of forced entry were found.
Who were Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca?
Kaye had been a music supervisor for American Idol from 2002 to 2023, according to her IMDb biography. She worked on nearly 300 episodes of the singing competition show.
The executive won three Guild of Music Supervisors awards for her contributions to American Idol.
Before her gig in music supervision, Kaye launched her own record company, SyncroniCity, in 2000. The company represented artists including Andrea Bocelli, Kenny Loggins, and Donny Osmond, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Deluca also had a career in music. He was a songwriter and musician. His debut album “Down To The Wire” was released by Epic Records in 1986, according to his website.
The home in question formerly belonged to late rapper Juice Wrld
Rapper Juice Wrld, real name Jarad Anthony Higgins, formerly owned the home that Kaye and Deluca shared.
Fox Los Angeles reports that members of the community are still shaken by a murder that occurred in the area in February.
“A lady was killed by her ex-husband right down the street. We have to be here for each other and all the neighbors have to stay close. As a neighbor, what's going through your heart just watching this, I have so much pain right now. This is not right, it's unbelievable,” Hanna Masachi told the station.
“I wish they would've worked a lot harder to get inside. It was a code three call for an armed suspect inside with a gun. The police didn't really make an attempt to get inside, which is a little bit upsetting and concerning, actually,” another neigbor, Tim Pingel, told the ABC-affiliate.
“We used to think this was one of the last neighborhoods. You know, I've seen the crime creeping through the valley. Sherman Oaks 20 years ago was beautiful, and it's looking bad, and now, Encino seems to be next,” Pingel added.
Juice Wrld died at the age of 21 in December 2019 when he suffered convulsions while traveling on a private jet as a result of consuming toxic levels of oxycodone, authorities said.
How have people reacted to the deaths?
An American Idol spokesperson told Deadline the show was “devastated to hear of Robin and her dear husband, Tom’s, passing.”
“Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her. Robin will remain in our hearts forever, and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time,” the spokesperson added.
A neighbor, meanwhile, pointed the finger at the police for not discovering the couple sooner.
Music producer Lee Newman described Kaye was the “foundation” of the show, reports NBC Los Angeles.
Colton Dixon, an American Idol finalist from season 11, told The Hollywood Reporter he’s “absolutely devastated” by Kaye’s death.
“Though I shouldn’t play favorites, Robin was always a highlight during my time on American Idol. She was quick to listen and always fought for what the artist wanted. She helped make my time on the show an unforgettable experience,” Dixon said.
Scott MacIntyre, a contestant from the show’s eighth season, said, per THR, “Robin was great at her job. As a blind person, there were always some extra considerations for me to work through when I needed to get hold of music or quickly research new songs to perform.
Robin made that process as easy as possible for me and was always willing to go the extra mile. She helped me and a lot of others on our musical journeys.”
The couple’s pool cleaner was shocked to learn of the deaths when he showed up for work on Tuesday morning.
“They are a nice couple. Really nice people,” Mauro Quintero told ABC Los Angeles. He also mentioned that an incident occurred at the couple’s home earlier this year.
“More than one month ago, I came and the guy came out and told me somebody break in, and they have little dogs, and the dogs keep barking, he wake up, and the people run away,” he said.
