By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 8:56 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / The Press Democrat
Carolyn Uland, left, learns of the homicide that took place at a neighboring house in Petaluma from friend Jan Koste, who lives next door to the McNeil Avenue residence where a homicide took place late Saturday night.
Residents of an east Petaluma neighborhood expressed shock Sunday at news of a shooting in their midst that left a woman dead and a neighbor in jail.
Petaluma police arrested Kenneth Mullennix, 49, of Petaluma on suspicion of homicide following the Saturday night shooting, reported Sgt. Tara Salizzoni.
Officers responded to the Mullennix home on McNeil Avenue at 10 p.m. Saturday when a caller reported someone had been shot.
They found a woman dead in the home. Her name was withheld Sunday, pending notification of family members, Salizzoni said.
Neighbors Sunday feared the woman was Mullennix's wife. But the thought shocked several who said they believed the couple and two teen daughters were a typical, happy family, complete with their two large German shepherds.
“Absolutely dumbfounded. This is a quiet neighborhood,” said Jan Koste, who lives next door.
Longtime resident Carolyn Uland put one hand to her mouth and gasped at the news.
“She was nice to me,” said Uland, of Mullennix's wife. “She brought me flowers the day after Christmas.”
“Those poor babies,” she said of the teen girls.
Neighbors estimated the family had lived on the street for almost 10 years and both Ken Mullennix and his wife were described as friendly and helpful.
Watching from windows late Saturday as their street was filled with police cars and flashing lights and officers coming and going, a few residents said they saw the daughters outside the home but didn't see their mother.
Few details of the slaying or arrest were released by Petaluma police Sunday.
Officers found a gun at the home believed to have been used in the killing. Ken Mullennix was also at the home when officers arrived.
Detectives and officers late Saturday and early Sunday morning were processing the crime scene and conducting initial interviews, Lt. Mike Cook said. Mullennix was booked into Sonoma County Jail and held without bail Sunday.
On Monday detectives will gather background on what led to the shooting, Cook said. He expected more information to be released Monday.
McNeil Avenue is part of an older eastside subdivision, off McDowell Boulevard, abutting Highway 101.
No one answered the door Sunday afternoon at the home where the shooting occurred. Signs of the recent holidays remained, with Christmas lights still hanging from the roof line. What appeared to be the family Christmas tree lay on its side on the front lawn, barren of decorations and ready to be hauled away.
But several hours earlier the house and street were busy with activity.
“I saw cops all over the place, and a firetruck and ambulance,” said Koste.
“All of a sudden there were all these flashing lights,” said Uland.
Yellow police tape blocked off McNeil at McDowell Boulevard to keep cars from driving through. At the end of the street, tape also roped off the corner and the home where the shooting occurred.
Neighbors who stepped outside to see what was happening were told by officers to stay in their homes, they said.
One resident said she had just got off work at about 10 p.m. at a nearby store and wasn't able to drive into the street due to the police tape. She parked and walked home.
Seeing all the police activity just a few doors away, she feared something bad had happened.
“This is just so sad,” said the woman, who declined to give her name.
Like many neighborhoods, neighbors knew the family to varying degrees. Some thought Ken Mullennix worked as a contractor and said his wife was from Thailand and didn't have nearby family.
“He was really nice, really friendly,” said Julio Pinoco, another neighbor. Pinoco said he and Mullennix got to know each other some in the last five years as both had teen girls in school together who were friends.
Mullennix's wife helped drive the girls to school at Casa Grande High School and Kenilworth Junior High, said Pinoco.
When one of Pinoco's daughters had a birthday party, Mullennix and his daughters came over with sodas to help celebrate, the man remembered.
Uland said the couple helped her through a time when her husband was ailing. While the wife would come visit, Ken Mullennix offered a hand around the house.
“He was nice. He used to come over and help with my lawn,” Uland said.
Copyright © 2010 PressDemocrat.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.
No comments:
Post a Comment