The man believed to be responsible for killing his wife, five children and himself in Wilmington had been fired from his hospital job along with his wife for allegedly forging a supervisor's signature on a child-care application, according to Kaiser Permanente officials.
Diana Bonta, vice president for public affairs at Kaiser Permanente, said the couple falsified income records so they could qualify for a child-care program run by Crystal Stairs, a nonprofit child development agency located near the West Los Angeles medical center where they worked.
"They were terminated because in the healthcare field, records are an important part of the process and people trust us with their health," she said.
Several police sources familiar with the investigation told The Times that Ervin and Ana Lupoe made upward of $40 an hour each in their work as radiological technicians for the hospital. But the couple made it appear that they were earning between $7 and $10 an hour, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The disparity was discovered when the child-care agency called Kaiser to inquire about the couple's income. Bonta would say only that Kaiser launched their investigation in December after being informed of the alleged fraud.
A day after police discovered the bodies of the seven family members at their Wilmington home, police said they were still trying to find out what could have triggered Lupoe to kill.
The couple's financial situation, though pressing in recent months, did not appear to be especially dire. The Lupoes were behind one month in their mortgage, investigators said. They found notices of two bounced checks -- one for about $15,000, the other for almost $2,000 -- to pay for property taxes and penalties, according to the law enforcement sources. Investigators said it did not appear they were behind on their credit card payments.
In the last two years, the couple had finished a home remodel that included the master bedroom and bathroom, and purchased new kitchen appliances including an industrial-grade refrigerator, the sources said.
The day before the Tuesday slayings, Lupoe made an 8 a.m. phone call to his brother-in-law, Cesar Ramirez, the police sources said. Lupoe told him he was in the car with his wife and five children and that they were on their way to Garden City, Kans. Lupoe's tone did not indicate there were any problems, the sources said.
