A man suspected in the slayings of an aunt and niece whose bodies were found in a Chula Vista home Friday is dead, police confirmed.
David Bell, 38, was sought by investigators throughout the morning after the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) identified him as a person of interest in the deadly shootings of two women in a home Apricot Court. The victims were identified by police as Bell's girlfriend, Aura Mancilla, 39, and her aunt, Patricia Garcia, 55.
Investigators released Bell's photo early Friday and said has was driving a white Mazda 3 with paper plates from Oklahoma. He was considered armed and dangerous and notices were sent to law enforcement departments in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties.
The CVPD said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office (LASO) reached out around 8:30 a.m. to report Bell's body and Mazda had been found in Norwalk, California, in Los Angeles County, about 115 miles north of the scene of the double-homicide.
Bell's car was parked at the Metro Green Line's Norwalk Station Park & Ride located near Interstate 105. He was in the driver's seat and had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
CVPD Lt. Eric Thunberg said Bell had called 911 just after 3 a.m. to report he had shot and killed his girlfriend and her aunt at the home in Chula Vista. He only gave his first name to 911 dispatchers and refused to provide further details. During the time between the murders and his suicide, Bell also contacted family members, Thunberg said.
The women were killed in Mancilla's home on Apricot Court at around 3 a.m. Friday. Neighbors called the police to report sounds of gunfire coming from the residence.
Thunberg said that when officers arrived, the garage door of the home was open. Police went inside and, in separate upstairs bedrooms, discovered Mancilla and Garcia had each been shot to death. Thunberg said it didn’t appear as if anyone had forced their way into the home.
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Neighbor Jessica Brown described the horrifying moments when her daughters, ages 8 and 6, woke up in the middle of the night to the commotion.
"I don’t know if they heard the gunshots but I know they heard the police sirens and they were very scared," Brown told NBC 7. "It’s just a terrifying experience to wake up to; you don’t expect it in a family-friendly neighborhood. My kids play outside. When it hits close to home, it’s very shocking."
Two women were found dead in a Chula Vista home early Friday #nbc7 on Apricot Street pic.twitter.com/vdNPqJtx2P
— WendyFry (@WendyFry_) February 2, 2018
The motive behind the killings is unknown. Thunberg said that between November 2016 and November 2017, police officers were called to Mancilla's home three times for domestic violence incidents. No charges were filed in any of the incidents.
Mancilla leaves behind a young daughter. The child was not home at the time of the killings, police said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by friends and family of Mancilla asking for help with funeral costs and unexpected financial burden.
Thunberg said Garcia had been living with her niece in Chula Vista while her home was being built in Mexico, where she planned to soon retire.
The investigation is ongoing.
LASO officials are handling the investigation into Bell's suicide in Norwalk; CVPD detectives are also collecting evidence at that scene while helming the investigation at the scene of the double-homicide in Chula Vista.
