The man accused of fatally shooting longtime American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband during a daylight burglary of their Los Angeles residence appeared in court wearing a “suicide gown” Wednesday and was deferred to mental health court for evaluation.
Raymond Boodarian, 22, did not enter a plea during the short arraignment hearing in Van Nuys, California. He peeked through a caged window at the gallery several times, but when Judge Martin L. Herscovitz tried to address him, he offered no response.
“He does have severe mental health issues. He’s appearing today in a suicide gown,” his public defender, Nancy Kolocotronis, told the court as the hearing began. After the judge tried unsuccessfully to get Boodarian’s attention, he spoke with the lawyers during a sidebar and then tried again.
“One more time. Mr. Boodarian? Mr. Boodarian, can you hear me?” the judge asked. “Let the record reflect he’s still staring out into space and not responding to the court’s questions.”
The judge then suspended the arraignment. “The court entertains doubt as to defendant’s mental competency,” Judge Herscovitz said. He ordered Boodarian back into custody without bail and set a Sept. 3 hearing in mental health court. He said any arraignment on Boodarian’s murder charges would have to wait until “he’s deemed mentally competent.”
Two family members, including Boodarian’s father, attended the hearing but declined to comment. A group of supporters for Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca sat in a different section of the courtroom.
Officials say Boodarian was burglarizing the Encino residence of Kaye and Deluca, both 70, when the couple arrived home from a shopping trip and encountered him on July 10. He allegedly shot the couple multiple times with a gun located in the home and then fled. The victims were found four days later during a welfare check.
In a search warrant affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone, an LAPD investigator said that on the day of the shooting, a neighbor called police to report someone had climbed over Kaye’s fence and “possibly attempted to break into the residence.” A radio call for that report was generated at 4:10 p.m.
Editor’s picks
A second radio call generated at 4:44 p.m. “indicated that the 911 caller identified himself as Raymond Boodarian and advised that someone broke into his office,” the affidavit states. “The 911 caller then stated, ‘Please don’t shoot me.’”
A review of surveillance video showed that a male suspect wearing a black baseball hat, gray shirt, dark colored pants, and black sandals was seen climbing over the front fence at 4:06 p.m. that day. Kaye and Deluca were seen on the video arriving back at the home at 4:43 p.m. Just 10 minutes later, the suspect was seen on surveillance video leaving the residence “as he concealed a handgun in his right rear waistband,” the affidavit says.
Police responded to the home the day of the murders but did not see signs of a break-in and did not enter the property, officials said.
If convicted as charged, Boodarian faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death.
“In a matter of moments, this couple was senselessly killed in their own home as they returned from the grocery store,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “This tragic shooting has shaken a valley community and the notion that home should be our safe sanctuary.”
Trending Stories
Kaye started working at American Idol in 2009 and “was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her,” a rep for the show said in a statement. She also worked in the music department for the NAACP Image Awards and on shows including Lip Sync Battle.
Deluca was songwriter and performer who composed music for artists including Kid Rock and Micky Dolenz, according to his profile on the website Melodic Rock Classics.
