Lawyer, 81, who advised judge in Charles Manson trial shoots wife, 75, dead before turning gun on himself in murder-suicide at their $3.5 million Long Beach home
- Lawrence Taylor served as legal counsel in the 1970 trial of Charles Manson
- He shot his wife in the head several times before shooting himself in California
- Police in Long Beach are calling on anyone with information to come forward
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A lawyer who served as legal advisor in the murder case against Charles Manson shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself.
Police in Long Beach, California are investigating the deaths of Lawrence Eric Taylor, 81, and Judy Strother Taylor, 75, as a murder-suicide.
Authorities responded to a welfare check at their $3.5 million home in Naples on Wednesday after the couple stopped answering their phone and front door.
Taylor founded his own law firm after serving as legal counsel to the judge in Manson’s trial and was Supreme Court counsel in the Onion Field murder case.
His wife worked under President Richard Nixon at the now closed White House Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention.
Police in Long Beach, California, are investigating the deaths of Lawrence Eric Taylor, 81, and Judy Strother Taylor, 75, as a murder-suicide
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Taylors’ deaths a suicide and Judy’s a homicide
Long Beach police found the couple dead in their home, with Judy suffering from “gunshot wounds to the head,” according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Taylor also suffered a “gunshot wound” to the head, while police recovered a firearm at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Taylors’ deaths a suicide and Judy’s a homicide.
Police confirmed the medical examiner will conduct an independent investigation.
The couple was pronounced dead at the scene and the motive for the shooting is currently unclear.
Judy has worked as a youth mentor and within juvenile justice for over twenty years.
She worked with Jerry Sherk, president of Mentor Management Systems, to introduce an employee-to-employee mentoring program at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, Albuquerque and Colorado Springs.
Taylor was appointed by the Montana Attorney General as an independent special prosecutor to conduct a one-year grand jury investigation into government corruption.
Taylor founded a law firm in Southern California with his son Chris (left). He is suspected of shooting his wife and then himself
Authorities responded to a welfare check at their $3.5 million home in Naples on Wednesday after the couple stopped answering their phone and front door
The former Marine graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and the UCLA School of Law.
He was voted a “super lawyer” by his attorneys in Southern California for 11 of the 13 years he practiced in the state.
Police are calling on anyone with information about the incident to come forward and contact them Homicide Detective Ethan Shear or Eric Thai at (562) 570-7244.
Anonymous tips can be submitted through ‘LA Crime Stoppers’ by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), by downloading the ‘P3 Tips’ app to your smartphone (available in the Apple App Store or Google Play), or by go to www.lacrimestoppers.org.