The man accused of fatally shooting longtime American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her musician husband, Thomas Deluca, has been declared incompetent to stand trial.
Raymond Boodarian, 22, is charged with murdering the couple during a daytime burglary of their Los Angeles house in July. The court had ordered him to appear at a competency hearing on Thursday, but he “refused transportation” from his jail, the judge said. The court conducted the hearing anyway after Boodarian’s defense lawyer waived his right to be present. The lawyer, Nancy Kolocotronis, and Deputy District Attorney Hilary Williams both agreed a ruling was necessary after Dr. Phani Tumu submitted a report on Boodarian’s mental status last week.
“The court finds the defendant is not presently competent to stand trial,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi said. “The court also finds it is medically appropriate to treat [Boodarian’s] psychiatric condition with psychotropic medication because this medication is likely to be effective.”
The judge then signed an order allowing the state to administer the medication “involuntarily.” She said that without the medication, it was “probable the defendant will suffer serious harm to his physical and mental health.” Back in September, the judge signed an order allowing Dr. Tumu to conduct the evaluation “at Mr. Boodarian’s cell door if [he] declines to exit his cell.”
“The defendant lacks the capacity to make decisions regarding psychotropic medication,” the judge said Thursday. “Restoration is in the interest of justice because this is a homicide case.”
The judge did not discuss any possible diagnosis on the record, but she set a follow-up hearing for Dec. 19. In the meantime, Boodarian will be transferred to a state hospital where he will be medicated with the “involuntary psychotropic medication,” she ruled.
Boodarian previously appeared at an arraignment in a different courthouse in August, a month after the killings. He peeked through a caged window inside the Van Nuys courtroom, but when Judge Martin L. Herscovitz tried to address him, he offered no response.
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“He does have severe mental health issues. He’s appearing today in a suicide gown,” Kolocotronis told the court in August. After the judge tried unsuccessfully to get Boodarian’s attention, he spoke with the lawyers during a sidebar. “One more time. Mr. Boodarian? Mr. Boodarian, can you hear me?” the judge asked again. “Let the record reflect he’s still staring out into space and not responding to the court’s questions.”
A group of supporters for Kaye Deluca attended the arraignment but declined to speak with the media. Some of the supporters attended the Thursday hearing as well, as did Boodarian’s father.
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.
A second radio call generated at 4:44 p.m. said “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.’”
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Home surveillance video showed that a male suspect wearing a black baseball hat, gray shirt, dark colored pants, and black sandals climbed over the front fence at 4:06 p.m., according to the affidavit. Kaye and Deluca were seen on the video arriving home at 4:43 p.m. Just 10 minutes later, the suspect was spotted on 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 eventually tried and convicted as charged, Boodarian could face the death penalty or a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Any trial would depend on a judge first finding him competent.
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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 a songwriter and performer who composed music for artists, including Monkees drummer and lead singer Micky Dolenz, according to the website Melodic Rock Classics.
