2 Shot to Death in Upper Ojai Home

UPPER OJAI — Across a rural, two-lane road from a place called “Paradise Ranch,” a woman and her elderly father were shot and killed Thursday--the first slayings in this quiet mountain enclave in decades, authorities said.

Investigators said Mike Hugo Garcia of Glendale shot Helen Dorothy Giardina, 42, and her 83-year-old father, Albert “Jim” Alexander, more than once just before 4 a.m. Thursday. He was later arrested.

Garcia, 43, apparently called 911 after the shooting to report what he had done, according to sheriff’s deputies.

When deputies arrived, Garcia was standing in the gravel driveway with a bloody towel on his arm and Giardina’s 3-year-old son at his side--unharmed, authorities said. Behind him, Garcia’s new black Porsche was parked with its hood up.

“He admitted to the shooting during interrogation,” said Sgt. Rod Mendoza, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.

A coroner’s spokesman said each victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The double homicide left investigators stumped for a possible motive.

“We don’t know,” said Capt. Larry Robertson, who heads the department’s major crimes division. “It’s just sick, that’s all I can say.”

With its orchards and small ranch homes, Upper Ojai has always been considered a haven from urban life. Deputies cannot recall a slaying there since the late 1960s.

Alexander, a retired Los Angeles city employee, bought his home along California 150 halfway between Ojai and Santa Paula more than 15 years ago, neighbors said.

His daughter lived in Inglewood with her husband, Tom Giardina, but had recently moved into the single-story yellow ranch house to care for her father, who had cancer.

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Their bodies were found just inside the front door, and they appeared to have been shot by handguns, investigators said. There were a number of guns in the home, officials said.

Deputies turned the young boy, Jim, over to county welfare workers until his father could pick him up. Officials would not say whether the 3-year-old had witnessed the slaying, but said he was “obviously traumatized.”

Garcia was sent to Ventura County Medical Center to be treated for a gash on his arm, then to County Jail, where he was interviewed by investigators.

Garcia, who neighbors said operated a furniture and water bed store in Los Angeles, owns 20 acres next to Alexander’s house, records show.

He recently had the property subdivided and had planned to build four homes there, but the plans were stalled, neighbors said.

Investigators would not say what relationship Garcia had with the two victims.

James Mellinger, who leased a home from Garcia, said Garcia often went onto the property for target practice.

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Wednesday night before the shooting, Garcia chased Mellinger’s young son through the family’s yard, throwing rocks at him, Mellinger said.

“I don’t know what was wrong with him, but he was out of control,” Mellinger said, standing in his yard as investigators pored over clues next door.

Other neighbors described Garcia as a friendly man who had often visited and chatted about building homes in the area, but who at other times frightened them with erratic behavior.

As for Alexander and his daughter, people who knew them described them as friendly and neighborly.

The two lived on an 8-acre parcel with chickens and rabbits in the backyard and a small swing set and toys in the front.

“I don’t know why anyone would want to kill her,” Mellinger said. “She was the sweetest person.”

Neighbor Katherine Dweedon recalled many talks with Giardina over coffee at the Summit Cafe a mile down the road.

Cafe regulars were aghast at the news as they hunched over breakfast Thursday. A waitress said the killings left regulars in a somber mood.

“It is shocking. It’s very shocking,” said the waitress, who declined to give her name.

“[Alexander and his daughter] used to come up here to eat, and they’d come by at least once a week during the summer. They come by a lot,” she said.

“She always ordered ham and cheese sandwiches, and garden burgers. They always ordered together. She would always call and they took it back to their house,” the waitress said.

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Other concerned neighbors slowed their cars or walked past the Alexander property to look at the throng of reporters and TV crews.

Actor Larry Hagman, who lives a few miles away, stopped his motorcycle to ask onlookers what happened.

“I’m glad they caught the guy, because if they didn’t the people up here would have been up in arms--I mean literally up in arms,” Hagman said.

Denise Stillman who went to nursing school with Giardina said Giardina dropped out four years ago to take care of her parents. Giardina’s mother died of cancer three years ago.

“You don’t know, they were the gentlest people,” Stillman said through tears. “I don’t see why anyone would do this.”

Lifelong Upper Ojai resident Carl Hofmeister, a 76-year-old rancher and Sheriff’s Department search and rescue volunteer, said he had recently spoken with Alexander.

“I just saw him on Wednesday, we visited him often. He was a real nice fellow,” Hofmeister said. “We were talking about doing some work on his property.”

Hofmeister and his wife Audrey, who live about a mile from Alexander’s home, heard the gunshots between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m., he said.

“I tell you what, this has some of the women up here scared to death,” he said.

Correspondents Scott Steepleton and Nick Green contributed to this story.