See Update No. 2 at the end of this post identifying the dead transient in Huntington Beach as Robert Andres Duran. Update No. 1 on the next page confirms the identities of Abraham Felmley, his uncle and his grandfather.
ORIGINAL POST, JULY 24, 9:45 A.M.: One of two bodies with gunshot wounds found in Huntington Beach's Bartlett Park Tuesday afternoon “probably” belongs to a parolee who was wanted in connection with a fatal fire Monday in southeastern Sacramento County that killed two of his relatives, according to authorities.
Homicide investigators suspect Abraham Felmley murdered a homeless man in the park at 19822 Beach Blvd. and then took his own life.
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The bodies were found by someone walking through the park around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday. Police initially did not release a cause of death but did add they do not believe there were any outstanding suspects or any danger to the community. The park with a heavy cover of trees and brush is known for homeless encampments.
Both men found suffered gunshot wounds and one is “probably” 32-year-old Felmley, Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitch O'Brien is later reported to have told City News Service.
He was an at-large parolee because he did not report to his parole officer in connection with a 2007 domestic abuse conviction, according to officials in Sacramento County.
Meanwhile, a man in his 80s and another in his 60s related to Felmley were found dead about 11:30 a.m. Monday in the house fire up north, Jason Ramos of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department also reportedly told the news service.
A pickup truck was taken from the residence on French Road, and four hours later a man who had been fishing reported a carjacking of his 1992 green Toyota Camry in Merced, Ramos related.
The suspect in the carjacking was Felmley, who was also wanted for questioning in the taking of the truck in front of the burned home, noted Ramos, adding that the suspect may have been injured in the fire.
The cause of death of the victims in the house fire was not immediately known, and investigators are trying to determine if the blaze was intentionally set, according to Ramos, who said it was believed Felmley had relatives in Southern California.
Anyone with information about the bodies found in Bartlett Park is asked to call Huntington Beach detectives at 714.536.5988.
UPDATE NO. 1, JULY 24, 3:21 P.M.: Officials have confirmed that Abraham Felmley is the man who apparently took his own life in Huntington Beach and his uncle Dennis Felmley, 62, and grandfather Chesley Felmley, 84, are the dead men found in the burned-down home in Sacramento County.
The older man appears to have been beaten to death, according to Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos, conceding the fire has made it difficult to determine the injuries each man suffered.
Meanwhile, the presumed transient found dead in Bartlett Park has not yet been identified by Orange County officials.
Autopsies were performed on all four bodies today.
A handgun was recovered from the scene in Surf City, according to Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitch O'Brien. A gun was missing from the Sacramento County home, Ramos reportedly told City News Service today. It's not yet been determined if that is the same firearm found down here or if it was used to kill the transient and then Abraham Felmley.
Family members told sheriff's investigators the at-large parolee had a “history of substance abuse” and “strained relationships” with family members, according to Ramos.
The carjacking of a 1992 Toyota Camry in Merced after Felmley had stolen the family's pickup truck may have been his attempt to throw authorities off his trail, Ramos reportedly surmised.
UPDATE NO. 2, JULY 24, 4:30 P.M.: The man who was apparently shot to death by Abraham Felmley has been identified as Robert Andres Duran, who is believed to have lived in a homeless encampment at Bartlett Park.
An autopsy on 49-year-old Duran today showed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.