The Encino couple murdered earlier this month when they walked in on a burglary were apparently unaware that police had left their property minutes before the shooting following an unsuccessful search for a prowler.
“American Idol” music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca were shot to death July 10 shortly after they pulled into their driveway around 4:43 p.m., according to newly public information filed by detectives in court.
LAPD West Valley Division officers had been outside their home on White Oak Avenue less than an hour earlier, between 4 p.m. and 4:20 p.m., after a neighbor reported seeing a man climb the wall into their property, but police said officers couldn’t get past a locked gate, the home appeared to be secure, and officers couldn’t reach the person who reported the prowler.
The court filing does not specify what time officers departed.
Authorities confirmed this week dispatchers then received a second 911 call, this one between 4:46 and 4:50 p.m. from a person who said, “someone broke into my office,” and, “don’t shoot me.”
GPS coordinates placed the caller inside the Kaye and Deluca home, the detectives said, and the caller identified himself as, “Raymond Boodarian,” the man now charged with their murders, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
The LAPD said in a statement dispatchers and officers immediately connected the first prowler call and the second 9-1-1 call on July 10 and reacted appropriately.
The couple who was killed in their Encino home were shot with their own gun. Investigative Reporter Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
“Responding units from West Valley Division and LAPD Air Support Division responded to both calls, which were ultimately linked based on the address,” the department said in a statement this week.
“Officers arrived on scene and conducted a check of the surrounding area and attempted to visually check the residence through the security gate, they attempted entry at two access points but both were locked and secured,” Public Information Director Jennifer Forkish wrote in response to questions about the day’s events.
“The home was secured with surrounding walls, the Air Ship visually checked the location and advised there was no visible activity or evidence of break in,” she said.
“After taking additional steps to contact the persons reporting and residents at the location, officers cleared from the scene.”
Kaye and Deluca’s bodies were found four days later when officers were called back to the home to do a welfare check after friends had been unable to reach the couple.
Boodarian, 22, has been charged with the couple’s murders and burglary, Hochman said, and also confirmed the victims were shot with their own gun.
Police said it appeared Boodarian was burglarizing the home when Kaye and Deluca entered their residence and were killed.
At a community meeting Monday LAPD Deputy Chief Marla R. Ciuffetelli told a group of Encino residents that the department would examine the response to those first calls and make sure officers were thorough.
“If appropriate action wasn’t taken – of course we’ll take action, and even if the response to the call met our expectations, we always want to try to do better,” she said.
One of the West Valley Division captains told the residents that Kaye and Deluca had attended a community meeting about neighborhood safety at the police station the night before they were killed.
“I had a chance to connect with Robin and Tom, sitting at the same table, for about 2 hours,” said Capt. Mike Bland, who promised officers would spend more time patrolling neighborhoods in Encino when they weren’t answering other calls.
Boodarian made an initial court appearance last week and was being held with no bail. He’s set to return to court next month to enter pleas to the charges.
NBC4 Investigates reported last week that Boodarian was released from jail in December after a judge ordered a number of criminal charges dismissed, due to a mental health proceeding.
The nature of that proceeding isn’t public, and the District Attorney’s Office did not respond to questions about whether the judge’s decision would affect a new prosecution for the murders.