Murder, Fire and Suicide: Man kills estranged wife, sets fire, then shoots himself at Murrieta apartment
Murrieta, California - On 4-18-2007 at approx. 2124 hours, Murrieta police officers responded on a radio call of multiple gun shots fired in a condominium unit at the Madison Park Condominium complex. The initial call indicated the female resident of the condo had been shot by her estranged husband and he was attempting to set the apartment on fire by dousing the condo with gasoline.Officers arrived on scene within one minute to find the downstairs condo unit with smoke billowing out of the unit. A neighboring family in the condominium complex was standing by with a 4 year old boy, who later was determined to be youngest son of the decedents. These neighbors entered the unit looking for any potential fire victims inside, but were prevented from searching due to the increasing smoke and flames and were able to escape without injury.
A 10 year old boy and a 12 year old boy were later determined to be the older two children of the decedents and were in a neighboring condo unit when police arrived. The three boys were in the home when their father, Aaron Scot Finney 34 yrs, forcibly broke into the condominium through a rear slider. As Aaron Finney began shooting his estranged wife, Sadie Charlee Finney 31 yrs, multiple times with a 9mm Glock pistol, the children ran to a neighboring unit to ask for help.
Aaron Finney is believed to have started the arson fire within the condo before killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound from the same weapon. The handgun was found in the master bedroom adjacent to where the Murrieta Fire Dept. personnel had pulled Aaron and Sadie Finney from as the flames were being extinguished. An autopsy was performed this morning to determine the formal cause of death and both were killed by gunshot wounds.
Sadie Finney had recently left her husband and moved into the Madison Park Condominum complex a few weeks ago shortly after his arrest for domestic violence last month. Sadie Finney and her three sons had an active restraining order against him. Aaron Finney was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence by Murrieta police on 03-25-2007 and was currently out on bail. He was scheduled to be arraigned at Southwest Court on 04-25-2007.
Murrieta detectives have discovered Aaron Finney planned the murder and left a suicide note at the residence he shared with his mother in Murrieta. The children are now being cared for by a relative.