Rutendra Raghunandan

Timeline

• Thursday, September 11, 2003 (11:50 PM) — Rutendra Raghunandan went to his wife’s apartment.
• Friday, September 12, 2003 (7:23 PM) — Rutendra Raghunandan was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond with a mandatory protection order.
• Friday, September 11, 2003 (Friday night) — Rutendra Raghunandan was called to the address after he allegedly broke into his wife’s apartment and assaulted her.
• Monday, September 15, 2003 — It was believed the shootings occurred one or two days before the bodies were found.
• Tuesday, September 16, 2003 (8:53 AM) — A maintenance worker opened the door, saw Lolita Raghunandan’s body, and called the sheriff’s office.
• Tuesday, September 16, 2003 (just before 9 a.m.) — Authorities discovered two adults and two children shot to death inside an apartment unit in Cimarron Hills.
• Tuesday, September 16, 2003 — Deputies cordoned off the Cimarron Hills apartment as a crime scene while investigators worked the case.
• Tuesday, September 16, 2003 — The victims were identified as Rutendra Raghunandan, 32, Lolita Raghunandan, 32, Akash Raghunandan, 10, and Rene Raghunandan, 5.
• Tuesday, September 16, 2003 — A rifle was found near the husband’s body, according to reports.
• Sep 16, 2003 — Officers investigated what appeared to be a murder-suicide; police believed Rutendra Raghunandan shot his estranged wife and their two sons before killing himself.
• September 17, 2003 — The Denver Post published details about the prison guard who shot his estranged wife and her two sons, then himself.

Background

Rutendra Raghunandan worked at the Denver women’s correctional facility as a correctional officer. He had worked there since April 1, 1999, and was to have been suspended Monday over last week’s arrest. Adults, Children Found Dead Inside Apartment Victims Of Apparent Murder-Suicide Identified.

The couple had separated. Lolita Raghunandan moved into the apartment with the two boys less than a month ago.

El Paso County sheriff’s officials believed Rutendra Raghunandan shot and killed his wife and two sons, and then killed himself.

The offence

Authorities investigated an apparent murder-suicide in which Rutendra Raghunandan shot and killed his estranged wife and their two sons before killing himself.

The victims were identified as:

• Rutendra Raghunandan, 32
• Lolita Raghunandan, 32
• Akash Raghunandan, 10
• Rene Raghunandan, 5

A rifle was found near the husband’s body, according to reports. A 9 mm gun was found near the father.

Investigation

Deputies responded to an apartment unit near East Constitution and Marksheffel Road just before 9 a.m. and discovered two adults and two children shot to death inside.

Lt. Rodney Gehrett, of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, said:

"A neighbor actually called the maintenance department of the complex here and said that they were concerned because they had not seen the children outside," said Lt. Rodney Gehrett, of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department. "The maintenance person went to the apartment and knocked on the door and there was no answer. He opened the door ... and could see the female victim lying in the living room."

Investigators believed the shooting occurred one or two days before the bodies were found. Neighbors gave conflicting reports, with some reporting hearing shots late Sunday night and others saying they heard them Monday morning.

Neighbor Todd Anderson said he heard a scream and what sounded like firecrackers between 11:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. Monday. Anderson said he thought it was children playing.

Authorities believed the husband and wife had separated and she moved into the apartment with the two boys less than a month ago.

Arrest

Before the deaths, Rutendra Raghunandan was arrested after breaking into his wife’s apartment and assaulting her.

Police said Rutendra Raghunandan was arrested last Thursday for breaking into his wife’s apartment, at which time the picture of Rutendra Raghunandan above was taken. He was released the next day.

He was called to the address Friday night when the husband allegedly broke into his wife’s apartment and assaulted her. He was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree assault, and domestic violence and was booked into the Criminal Justice Center. He was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bond the next day, according to the investigators.

Court protection order and prior incident details

Lolita Raghunandan apparently went to TESSA, who helped her obtain a civil protection order against her husband.

A judge advised Rutendra Raghunandan of his rights Friday, and he was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond with a mandatory protection order at 7:23 PM on September 12. A DV conviction would certainly have cost him his job at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility.

Other details

The incident happened at the wife’s apartment in Cimarron Hills at 7135 Independence Square Point.

At 11:50 PM Thursday, September 11, Rutendra Raghunandan went to his wife’s apartment. Lolita would not let him in but he managed to get inside through an open door on the balcony.

Once inside, Rutendra Raghunandan found another man in the apartment and asked him to leave. The other man left. Lolita told a sheriff’s deputy that her husband then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the bedroom, a court document shows.

A deputy wrote in the court document:

"Mr. Raghunandan shoved Mrs. Raghunandan against a bedroom wall, grabbed her hair and forcefully shoved her head into the wall causing pain. Mr. Raghunandan also tore Mrs. Raghunandan's shirt,"

The deputy noted that a screwdriver was embedded in a bedroom door and that a closet door had a hole in it. Rutendra Raghunandan told the deputy he caused the damage.

By Tuesday morning, a neighbor worried that she had not seen the boys asked a maintenance worker at the apartment complex to check on the family. The maintenance worker opened the door, saw Lolita’s body, and called the sheriff’s office at 8:53 AM September 16, 2003.

Prison guard kills wife and two sons after unfaithful wife obtains protection order Prison guard shoots estranged wife and her two sons, then himself The Denver Post Wednesday, September 17, 2003.