Cathedral City murder-suicide victims identified

The Riverside County Coroner’s office identified Thursday a Cathedral City mother and her adult daughter, both believed to have been shot and killed by the mother’s common law husband.

Police found the bodies of Joanne Hasapes, 49, Lovewood, Florida and her mother Honorata Jastrzebski, 76, Cathedral City late Wednesday morning at a Cathedral City home on the 69000 block of Northampton Ave.

A coroner’s report said it wasn’t yet known how long the bodies had been in the home before they were discovered.

Police also found the body of a 72 year old man in another room. He had not yet been publicly identified pending notification of his next of kin, but investigators said he was believed to be Jastrzebski’s common-law husband.

Police said they found a handgun in the home and a letter confessing the killings.

The coroner’s office was expected to conduct autopsies on all three bodies Thursday morning. A public release listed their dates of death as Dec. 12, but left their dates and times of injuries lines blank.

A package left on the home’s front door step had been there for a week’s time.

Jastrzebski’s adult son called police Wednesday after discovering the gruesome scene. He had been worried after not being able to reach them for days.

“It appeared everybody was asleep in bed. So he didn’t wake anybody up, he basically left, then he came back later in the morning to make contact and that’s when he found them in their condition,” Lt. Chuck Robinson of the Cathedral City Police Department told News Channel 3’s Laura Yanez.

“The mother and daughter were both shot and killed in bed by the male, who then at some point turned the gun on himself and committed suicide,” said Robinson.

Family members told police Hasapes was visiting her sick mother who had only months left to live.

They said her illness stirred up a fight over her finances.