On July 14, officers with Los Angeles Police Department were called to conduct a welfare check at a home in Encino. Inside, they found two people dead — Robin Kaye, a longtime music supervisor for American Idol, and her husband, Thomas Deluca.
The pair had been shot and killed several days earlier, with authorities later determining that Kaye and Deluca sustained their fatal injuries on July 10. Not long after their bodies were discovered, police quickly identified, arrested, and charged a suspect, 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian, in the shocking killing that has rattled a neighborhood and a longtime reality TV tentpole.
Here’s everything we know about the case so far.
Kaye spent more than a decade working as a music supervisor on American Idol. She joined the show in 2009 and is credited on nearly 300 episodes. After her death, a spokesperson for the show called Kaye “a cornerstone of the Idol family,” and was “truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.”
The statement continued: “Robin will remain in our hearts forever as we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Former American Idol judge Randy Jackson called Kaye “a dear friend” and said she “consistently went the extra mile, meticulously ensuring songs were placed and cleared for the show. She was truly one of a kind. Forever loved and deeply appreciated.”
Along with American Idol, Kaye worked as a music supervisor on several other major shows, including Miss Universe, Lip Sync Battle, The Dance Scene, and Crashed.
Deluca also worked in music, a guitarist and songwriter who spent many years plying his trade in Nashville. He co-wrote songs that were recorded by Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Jennifer Rush, Meredith Brooks, Molly Hatchett, and David Allen Coe. (The song he co-wrote for Coe, “Son of the South,” was later reworked by Kid Rock as ‘Son of Detroit.”) Deluca also played in a band called the Piggies and recorded a solo, Down to the Wire, which Epic released in 1986.
Per People, Kaye and Deluca met at a concert in 1983, when Kaye was also in Nashville and working for Waylon Jennings. The couple later relocated to Los Angeles in the middle of the decade and married soon after. They moved into their house in Encino in 2023.
According to authorities, Kaye and Deluca had returned from the grocery store on July 10 when they confronted a stranger in their house. Police say the suspect, Boodarian, had entered through an unlocked door, and that the house’s alarm system was off at that time; a previous LAPD statement said “there were no signs of forced entry or trouble.” During the confrontation that ensued, Boodarian allegedly shot Kaye and Deluca multiple times with a gun that belonged to the couple.
While Kaye and Deluca’s bodies weren’t discovered until the welfare check on July 14, it was later revealed that two 911 calls were made on the day of the killing — including one allegedly from Boodarian himself. The first call from a neighbor about a possible burglary came at around 4:10 p.m. and prompted LAPD officers to check the home and walk the perimeter, while a helicopter conducted a fly-over. It’s believed Boodarian was inside the home at this time, though no suspicious activity was detected.
The second call came around 4:44 p.m., with a search warrant affidavit stating that “the 911 caller identified himself as Raymond Boodarian and advised that someone broke into his office.” According to the affidavit, the caller also stated, “Please don’t shoot me.”
Despite the two 911 calls, and subsequent house checks, authorities did not immediately find Kaye and Deluca’s bodies. “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,” LAPD Communications Director Jennifer Forkish previously said (via the Los Angeles Times). “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. After taking additional steps to contact the persons reporting and residents at the location, officers cleared from the scene.”
It wasn’t until a neighbor called the police four days later to say they hadn’t seen or heard from Kaye or Deluca that police finally entered the couple’s home and found them dead in separate rooms.
Authorities quickly zeroed in on Boodarian as the suspect and they were able to track his location by pinging his cellphone. He was arrested and eventually charged with two counts of murder, as well as a burglary charge.
Boodarian was finally arraigned on Aug. 20, and showed up to court wearing a protective “suicide gown,” according to his public defender. Boodarian neither entered a plea, nor responded to questions asked by the judge.
“He does have severe mental health issues,” his lawyer, Nancy Kolocotronis, said.
The arraignment was eventually suspended. At the end of the hearing, Judge Martin L. Herscovitz ordered Boodarian back into custody without bail and set a Sept. 3 hearing in mental health court. He said any arraignment on Boodarian’s murder charges would have to wait until “he’s deemed mentally competent.”
If convicted as charged, Boodarian faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“In a matter of moments, this couple was senselessly killed in their own home as they returned from the grocery store,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman previously said in a statement. “This tragic shooting has shaken a valley community and the notion that home should be our safe sanctuary.”