Decapitated couple found in California mobile home identified as the suspect’s parents

A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murdering his parents after deputies discovered the elderly couple's bodies.

A 41-year-old San Juan Capistrano man was arrested on suspicion of murdering his parents Tuesday after deputies discovered the elderly couple’s decapitated bodies, along with their dead dog, inside their mobile home, authorities said Wednesday.

Shortly after 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, deputies responded to a domestic assault call near the 32000 block of Alipaz Street inside San Juan Mobile Estates, a mobile home park in San Juan Capistrano. Deputies discovered a “horrific scene” inside the home, where 79-year-old Antoinette Gerdvil and 77-year-old Ronald Walter Gerdvil and the couple’s dog were found headless and mutilated, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Wednesday.

The suspect, Joseph Brandon Gerdvil, was seen covered in blood and chasing a maintenance worker inside the park before stealing the worker’s golf cart. He was found driving the golf cart on Calle Arroyo near a bike trail exit when he was shot multiple times by one deputy, OCSD said.

It was unclear if Gerdvil was armed or what prompted the deputy to shoot. The 41-year-old suspect was later hospitalized in critical but stable condition, officials said. He will be booked at the Orange County Sheriff’s jail on two counts of homicide once he is released from the hospital, officials said.

OCSD did not reveal a motive, if known, for the killings. And it wasn’t revealed what type of weapon was used in the killings of the elderly couple and the dog.