Iraq War veteran likely shot mother before killing sister then self

UPDATE March 22, 2012
Gilroy missing mom of Iraq war veteran in murder-suicide found dead

UPDATE
Search finds no trace of Iraq vet's missing mother

Jill Tucker

Sunday, March 18, 2012
Gilroy -- Search-and-rescue crews combed 30 miles of unincorporated Santa Clara County Saturday looking unsuccessfully for a missing Gilroy woman police believe was likely killed by her son, an Iraqi war veteran.

Martha Gutierrez, 52, has not been seen since Tuesday, a day before authorities found the bodies of her son Abel Gutierrez and her 11-year-old daughter Lucero Gutierrez in the family's Gilroy apartment.

Police believe the 27-year-old man shot his sister and then himself.
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Gilroy police: Iraq War veteran likely shot mother in Mustang before killing sister then self

By Lisa Fernandez
Posted: 03/16/2012

The Iraq War veteran who killed his 11-year-old sister and then turned the gun on himself, also shot his mother in his green Mustang, based on evidence found in the car, Gilroy police reported Friday.

By noon, Martha Gutierrez, 52, had not been found. While the investigation is ongoing, police said it is likely her son, 27-year-old Abel Gutierrez shot her sometime after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, when she was last seen, and left her for dead.

Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said he was still hoping that she still may be alive and urged anyone with information to call police.

Police said the son's 2000 Ford Mustang, recovered at the family's home on Kern Avenue, had signs of a "violent assault," and that a gun had been fired in it. Martha Gutierrez's cell phone was found in the car.

"She has not showed up to work," said Grant Cornia, Martha Gutierrez's supervisor at the Headstart Nursery in Gilroy, where she had worked for at least a decade in the greenhouses. The last day he saw her was Tuesday. "This is definitely a shock to everyone. It's hit a lot of people really hard."

On Wednesday, at 9 p.m., police rushed to the family's apartment complex after a roommate thought something might be wrong; they had told the department earlier that they thought Abel Gutierrez, an award-winning National Guard infantryman, had been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since his return from Iraq two years ago.
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Iraq war veteran killed sister then himself