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After 2 murders, HOA board member calls on police: ‘We need a lot more’

Residents in the Palm Desert Country Club remain shaken after two people were killed in that area just weeks apart.

No arrests have been made, and the Sheriff's Department is saying very little about either case.

On Tuesday, police said they found 93-year-old Jean Grace Willrich dead in her home on Michigan Drive.

HOA board member Pat Munson didn't know Willrich personally, but said she lives "just a few doors down."

"A 93-year-old woman found murdered in her own home is very, very scary," Munson said. "I'm a single woman; I live alone. Just the thought of this poor woman being attacked – that is heart wrenching."

Three weeks earlier and a few blocks away, 47-year-old Edward Snyder was shot and killed near Tennessee and Oklahoma avenues. Neighbors said police revealed to them he was simply taking a walk.

"Heard eight rounds fired, came out shortly after the situation and saw the body laying right over here," Dave Marshall said

Willrich's neighbors said she lived alone, and that many in the neighborhood were unnerved by the pair of murders.

Munson is calling on the Sheriff's Department to do more in the wake of these incidents.

"They're doing their best, I guess – I just don't think it's enough," she said. "I don't think there's enough police protection for the area. We need a lot more."

She urged the Sheriff's Department to be more forthcoming with information about her neighborhood's safety. In both homicides, it wasn't until the following day police publicly released information.

"We need to be made aware of these things so we can help protect ourselves," Munson said. "We're just asking the sheriff's department to help us – help us to protect ourselves."

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Jake Ingrassia

Joining News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 as a reporter, Jake is excited to be launching his broadcasting career here in the desert. Learn more about Jake here.

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