The family of murdered soap star Johnny Wactor are reportedly angry over comments made by his ex-fiancée following his tragic murder.
According to TMZ, The late actor’s mother, Scarlett, said her son and Tessa Farrell dated several years ago but have not been in touch since their divorce, and that Farrell has not kept up with his relatives either.
In a tearful video posted online after Johnny’s death last weekend, Farrell called for stricter laws in Los Angeles – the city where the actor was shot and killed when confronted by criminals who broke into his car.
The outlet reports that Farrell said she wants L.A. authorities to consider rescinding the city’s current zero-bail policy, which consistently puts low-level — but often dangerous — criminals back on the streets.
Despite the common-sense change Farrell is advocating, Scarlett says she wishes her ex-almost daughter-in-law would stop using her son’s name for influence, which she believes is happening.
Johnny Wactor (left) pictured with his family, who are now preparing to take his body to South Carolina where they will mourn him
Scarlett is currently working to arrange for her son’s body to be flown to South Carolina, where his family lives, so they can continue to properly mourn him.
She added that they will hold a memorial service in Los Angeles at a later date.
LA police have yet to make an arrest following the murder, and authorities reportedly say these types of tragic events have become somewhat of a standard issue given the out-of-control way criminals have been behaving lately.
These criminals in particular attempted to steal Wactor’s catalytic converter, a crime that is particularly common in the City of Angels as criminals know that if caught, they will only have received a slap on the wrist.
TMZ reports that the LAPD’s rank and file don’t expect the issue to improve anytime soon without changes from the top down.
Wactor, an actor, was murdered this weekend by a group of thieves who tried to rob his car
His ex-fiance has posted several times online about her former flame’s untimely death, which his mother has now reflected on, hoping to put an end to the online commentary
The actor, 37, had appeared in more than 160 episodes of General Hospital between 2020 and 2022. He had guest and recurring roles on several other hit shows.
Wactor died this weekend after leaving work at a rooftop bar with a colleague around 3am when he interrupted three men who were stealing the catalytic converter from his car, his family previously told DailyMail.com.
They said he initially thought his car was being towed, but as he got closer he was shot by a masked suspect.
Three suspects then drove away, witnesses said.
The 37-year-old was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
There were no arrests Wednesday. Police in the city said they are investigating but have not yet informed the public of any substantial leads.
Wactor’s murder comes just weeks after California was ranked among the top 10 most dangerous states in America.
Violent crime in Los Angeles has been on the rise, with the LAPD recording a 2.9 percent increase at the end of March 2024, compared to the same time last year.
The LAPD reported Friday that the city’s 2024 homicide increase continued to decline in late April and as of April 27 was only 4.2 percent higher than the homicide rate reported at this point in 2023. NBC Los Angeles reports this.
The last time the department updated robbery statistics, in late March 2024, thefts were up 9.5 percent, according to ABC 7.
About 600,000 catalytic converters are stolen every year. Most cars are equipped with one inverter, but cars with a dual exhaust system require two. Larger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks may have more than two.
According to the New York Times, stolen catalytic converters are passed through “middlemen, smelters and refineries in the United States and abroad.” They can be stolen in a minute and cost about $1,000 to replace.