Karthik Rajaram

Case record: Karthik Rajaram

Background

Karthik Rajaram was found dead in his Porter Ranch home along with his wife, mother-in-law and three sons. Neighbors and coworkers said he was a loving father, but “very intense” and at times unstable.

Karthik Rajaram was a 45-year-old Porter Ranch financial manager who had once made more than $1.2 million in a London-based venture fund. He lost his job and his luck playing the stock market ran out. Authorities believed Rajaram killed his family and himself after seeing his finances wiped out by the stock market collapse, according to a source familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

In a letter addressed to police, Rajaram blamed his actions on economic hardships. A second letter, labeled “personal and confidential,” was addressed to family friends, and a third contained a last will and testament. The letter to police voiced two options: taking his own life, or killing himself and his entire family. LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore said:

“He talked himself into the second strategy. That that would be the honorable thing to do.”

LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore also said:

“This is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit,”

He added:

“It is critical to step up and recognize we are in some pretty troubled times.”

The offence

Police found that Rajaram killed his wife, mother-in-law and three sons before taking his own life.

When police entered the home in the gated, Spanish-style community, they first found the gunman’s mother-in-law, Indra Ramasesham, 69, dead in a downstairs bedroom. His wife and three sons—Krishna, 19, a sophomore at UCLA majoring in business economics; Ganesha, 12; and Arjuna, 7—all were discovered in various upstairs bedrooms, all shot in the head, some with multiple gunshot wounds. Their father was found dead in a bedroom with Ganesha and Arjuna, the gun still in his hand, police said.

Authorities described the case as a Porter Ranch murder-suicide in connection with financial ruin.

Investigation and discovery

Concern about the family’s welfare began on Monday morning when Rajaram’s wife, 39-year-old Subasri, did not show up for her carpool. Friends went to the house in the 20600 block of Como Lane and found it strangely quiet. The morning newspaper lay in the frontyard.

The family’s two cars, a Suburban and a Lexus SUV, were parked in the driveway.

Police said nobody reported hearing gunshots or anything out of the ordinary. On Monday, police led convoys of media into the gated community, and children at nearby Alfred B. Nobel Middle School—where 12-year-old Ganesha Rajaram was a seventh-grade honors student—were sent home with notes informing their parents of the news. Principal Robert Coburn said:

“This one will shake people to the core,”
“When you think about it, all kids have a mom and dad. And if a father can do this to his kids, it’s very scary.”

Other details

The Rajarams had lived in the upscale Sorrento neighborhood of Porter Ranch for a couple of years in a 2,800-square-foot rented house. The landlords, another Indian couple, said the family paid their rent on time and that there were no indications of trouble.

Neighbors in a Northridge neighborhood where the family previously lived said they were well-liked and enjoyed entertaining guests. Except for one night when residents heard a man screaming for hours, the family seemed content for the nine years they lived there. Sue Karns, next-door neighbor, said:

“He loved those kids more than any man I've seen love his sons,”

In the Porter Ranch neighborhood, next-door neighbor Kinda Almukaddem said she had rarely spoken to the family since they moved in a couple of years ago. In the last two weeks, Karthik Rajaram visited her twice asking whether she would be home this past weekend. He urged her to keep her side windows shut because he had heard of burglaries in the area. She said Rajaram seemed nervous, shaking, pacing and taking notes on a notepad as he spoke. Almukaddem said:

“He noticed my side windows were open, the side that my house shares with him,”
“Now, come to think of it, I think he was trying to have me close my windows on that side so I wouldn't hear anything.”

At Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco Medical Center, Dr. Mason Turner said there was a fourfold increase in psychiatric admissions at his hospital during August, with roughly 60% of patients saying financial stress contributed to their problems. In Stockton, mental health counselor Victoria Tabios said more than a third of her cases revolved around foreclosures. Victoria Tabios said:

“They are falling behind on their house payments because of bad loans, so they begin fighting and blaming each other. Some resort to drinking,”
“It's a domino effect.”

Dr. Turner described depressed individuals and isolation as a downward spiral:

“They begin fighting and blaming each other. Some resort to drinking,”

Rich Paul said calls about stress related to foreclosure and financial hardship had gone up 200% in California in the last year. Richard Chaifetz said:

“The closest I have seen to this in the last 10 to 20 years is the spike after 9/11,”
“But this is more geographically dispersed and is not going to get better in a month.”

Elaine Rodino said:

“If a person feels stressed about one thing they feel stressed about everything. It's a snowball effect,”

Jana Martin said:

“I'm so drained, I feel like a need a B-12 shot every 15 minutes,”
and also: “It's an equal opportunity stress agent,”

Rajaram’s career and investments included a London-based venture fund and earlier success. A 2001 article in The Daily Telegraph of London, under the headline “Bust, but big bucks for the big boys,” called Rajaram a “winner” in a deal for NanoUniverse, a Los Angeles- and London-based venture fund taken public on the London Stock Exchange. The article described a 12,500-pound investment by Rajaram, one of the company’s founders, resulting in 875,000 pounds, or about $1.2 million in 2001 dollars, after a voluntary liquidation.

Karns said Rajaram sold his house in 2006 as a decision even though his wife, a bookkeeper at a pharmacy, did not want to move. Sue Karns said:

“The market was going down and he wanted to get out before the bottom dropped out,”
“I talked to him last December and he said, 'I feel I did a good thing by selling when I did.' ”

It was unclear how Rajaram invested cash after that or how he lost it.

In 2003 and 2004, Rajaram worked for Greg Robinson, an entrepreneur and founder of several companies, at Azur Partners LLC, a management consulting agency. Robinson said he was forced to fire Rajaram because “his life wasn't moving in the right direction.” Robinson said:

“He had some behavioral problems,”
“He wasn't reliable. . . . He was not an emotionally stable person. It was a real problem and would affect any business he was involved in.”

Robinson recalled Rajaram as “a very smart guy,” and said he believed Rajaram posted a perfect score on his business school entrance exam. Karns and her husband said they liked Rajaram and were stunned by the news, and they said he was “very high-strung, very intense.” Sue Karns said:

“The man was never relaxed,”

A friend, Uma Rajaram of Tustin, recalled a party in Beverly Hills and said:

“I don't think any of their close friends even know what is going on,”
“It's the culture you grow up with.”

Uma Rajaram said:

“People don't talk much about finances, she said. "It's the culture you grow up with."”

A spokesperson for mental health referral systems described the broader context of financial distress. Richard Chaifetz said ComPsych Corp coordinates mental health referrals for employers. Rich Paul said ValueOptions handles mental health referrals.

A study that looked at economic shifts between 1972 and 1991 found suicides rose an average of 2% when the economy faltered.

The case context included discussion of how economic turmoil can affect mental health and suicide risk. Daniel J. Reidenberg, a psychologist and executive director of SAVE in Minneapolis, said:

“The majority of the calls I am getting now are from people overly stressed over their finances,”
“And I have talked to business executives as well as people who have just lost their jobs. The severity of the credit crunch is causing people to engage in more extreme behavior.”

Selwyn Parker said:

“My research showed that a lot of people committed suicide in the privacy of their own homes as their fortunes and reputations were depleted,”
“It happened all over the world — in New York, the bushes of Australia, Germany and Austria.”

Steven Stack said Emile Durkheim argued those with greatest fortunes who lose the most had greatest suicide risk:

“His argument was that those who are the highest suicide risk are those with the greatest fortunes who lose the most and have the furthest to fall,”

Timeline

• Sept. 16, 2008 — Rajaram bought a gun, wrote two suicide notes and a last will and testament.
• Between Saturday night and Monday morning (date not stated) — Rajaram killed his wife, mother-in-law and three sons, and took his own life.
• Monday morning (date not stated) — Rajaram’s wife did not show up for her carpool; friends checked the home in the 20600 block of Como Lane.
• August (year not stated) — Dr. Mason Turner reported a fourfold increase in psychiatric admissions at his hospital with roughly 60% of patients saying financial stress contributed to their problems.
• 2001 (article year stated) — The Daily Telegraph described Rajaram as “a winner” in a NanoUniverse deal after a voluntary liquidation.
• 2003 and 2004 (employment period stated) — Rajaram worked for Greg Robinson at Azur Partners LLC and was later fired.
• 2006 (year stated) — Rajaram sold his house.

Outcome

Rajaram died by suicide after killing his wife, mother-in-law and three sons in his Porter Ranch home.