Quadruple homicide in Rancho Cordova ruled murder-suicide

Editor's note: This story was edited to add information on Wednesday, Jan. 28. A horrible scene unfolded in Rancho Cordova on Tuesday, Jan. 27, when four people, two adults and two minors, were found shot to death inside a home in an apparent murder-suicide. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office responded to a call around 8:30 a.m. from a woman who said she heard gunshots and screaming from a residence in the 5400 block of Mill Water Circle. A few minutes later, a man, who was later identified as David Vallerga, 58, called to say he was the shooter and had installed booby traps in the home. Officers established a perimeter and began evacuating nearby residents, hearing what they believed might have been a single gunshot. Authorities confirmed Vallerga was prior military and had numerous firearms in his home. In response, Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail (SED/SWAT Team) deployed two armored vehicles and tried to call out any people from the home. A search warrant for the home was also obtained. After receiving no response from inside the house, SED deployed a unit called the Rock, a smaller, more versatile armored vehicle, according to Sheriff's officials. The Rock broke down a side fence and breached the sliding glass door. Then, a Sheriff's SCOUT UAS (Unmanned Aerial System/drone) was flown into the home and discovered Vallerga unresponsive, still holding a pistol in his right hand. SED immediately entered the house and found a 49-year-old woman and two minors, a 13-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl. All four people were dead from apparent gunshot wounds, according to the Sheriff's Office. Due to the earlier threat of booby traps, Sheriff's Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team cleared the home; no traps were found. Investigators then combed the scene, collected evidence and interviewed witnesses. Based on the evidence at the scene, Sheriff's detectives believe this was a murder-suicide committed by Vallerga. A second pistol was found under Villerga's body and multiple shell casings in two calibers were collected, both of which matched the firearms recovered from Vallerga, according to Sheriff's officials. Detectives seized about 14 other firearms from the home and were still working on determining a motive. Identities of the victims will be made available when they are released by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office.