CONVICTED HATCHET MURDERER SUSPECTED IN SLAYINGS OF WIFE AND CHILDREN DIES IN HOSPITAL

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August 23, 2012 (Paradise Hills) – Clarence Blunt, who police suspect killed his wife and children, died today in a local hospital.

Lilly Blunt, 33, a nurse and recent graduate of San Diego State University’s nursing program, was found dead inside her Paradise Hills home along with her 7-month-old son, Richard and her 3-year-old daughter, Lianna on August 20. Her estranged husband, Clarence Blunt, the suspect in the triple homicide, was found in the home suffering from self-inflicted injuries.

Investigations by UT San Diego and 10 News reveal that Clarence Blunt had a history of mental illness and serious crimes, including a gruesome murder of a gas station attendant.

Blunt confessed to repeatedly striking the victim in the head with a hatchet during a robbery gone wrong, when Blunt was 17.  He also had convictions for robbery, theft and burglary as well asmultiple accusations of domestic violence in his past.

On July 30, Lilly Blunt filed for a restraining order after telling her husband she wanted a divorce on July 15.   Court documents indicate that she had fled to a domestic violence shelter and claimed that he had pushed, hurt and threatened her in the past.  “I am terrified by this behavior” she stated, also indicating that he had said he would not allow her to divorce him.   He told her “If you want a divorce, it will be ugly. It will be war between me and you,” she stated.

He denied her allegations. He also arranged for her to be fired from her job, at Vibra Hospital in Hillcrest, accusing her of theft.  On August 3, both parties failed to show up for a hearing on the restraining order.

On Sunday, August 19, police received a call from  a relative asking them to check on the family after being unable to reach them.  Officers found mother and children dead in the living room of the home, located in the 2400 block of Luther Street in the southeast San Diego neighborhood of Paradise Hills. They discovered Clarence Blunt injured and transported him to a hospital.

Posts on local news blogs by people who claim to be friends of the victim have stated that she was unaware of her husband's violent past when she married him.  

If you have information about this case, please call San Diego Police Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

 


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