Merced County Sheriff's Sgt. Tom Cavallero said Christine McFadden was returning from her morning walk shortly after 7 a.m. when she found her 17-year-old daughter lying dead in the hallway near the door of her bedroom.
McFadden, a veterinarian in Merced, then called police from a neighbor's house before returning with deputies to the gray ranch-style home to find her three other children and her estranged husband lying in separate bedrooms, Cavallero said.
"It looks like they had been sleeping," Cavallero said of the children.
The body of former Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy John Hogan was found in the bed of the master bedroom, holding the dead 5-year-old girl, Michelle Hogan, in his arms.
Melanie Willis, 17, and Stanley Willis, 15, were students at Golden Valley High School. Stuart Willis, 14, was an eighth grader at Our Lady of Mercy School.
Commander Bart Pazin of the Merced County Sheriff's Department said Hogan was a retired deputy from Santa Clara County.
Cavallero said McFadden left the house with a neighbor at 6 a.m. for their morning run and that she told deputies her estranged husband was not in the house when she left.
"I don't think anybody can pre-plan for this type of action," Pazin said. "Nobody could ever foresee something like this."
The shooting took place in the Robinson Estates, a small community on the east side of Merced near Bear Creek, where lawns are well manicured on half-acre lots.
"It is a very affluent residential area with custom homes," Cavallero said. "It is very nice, with single-family homes on big lots. It is very suburban."
This seems to be happening about once a week.
Why the hell can't somebody foresee something like this?
When a husband and wife are separating, anybody who suspects their spouse might be capable of violence needs to protect themselves and the kids at a safe location, and the state MUST NOT require that spouse to make their location known... (There must be other things that people can come up with, but this would be a start...)
Mark W.
Wonder why he spared his wife?
sw
Giving lie to the premise that only police, or former police, should have firearms.
Hello,
I was married to John Hogan in 1972. All I know is that he was not a bad person then. He had his problems but he would never had hurt a child. He wanted a child so badly. We had a child but through circumstances that I can not disclose, he only saw the child a couple of times. The child never did meet him.
Everyone always thinks of Christine, God Bless her, but no one thinks of John's family and how this has hurt them too. From what I hear , only one side of the story has been told. Since she has money and influence in the community, that is the way it will stay unless someone says something.
From what I heard, she had a restraining order against John yet she would allow him to move back in and then kick him out again. She threatened to not let him see his daughter anymore. Michelle was his only reason for living. Her older children told their father that they were afraid of John yet she still let him move back in. Things like this were not told.
John took his daughter with him because of her threat to not let him see her anymore. In his state of mind this was the only way that he could have her with him and Christine could not keep him away from her.
My child, my grandchild and I also lost someone that day. My child lost a father and sister. My grandchild lost a grandpa and an aunt. I lost someone that I loved.
I feel very sorry for Christine and I have prayed for her and the children many times. However,this crushed Johns family also.There is no excuse or reason that would make right what he did and I don't pretend so. I just want all of the story revealed.