Man arrested in California after brutally beheading his parents and their dog

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (KTLA) – Gruesome details have emerged of a brutal and bloody double murder in which a dog was killed and the suspect was shot at a trailer park in Orange County, California earlier this week.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to reports of a “domestic incident” around 7:30 a.m. on July 9, officials said.

According to an OCSD press release, officers who responded found a “horrific sight”: Two elderly victims, identified as 79-year-old Antoinette Gerdvil and her husband Ronald Gerdvil, 77, had been decapitated along with their dog.

Minutes after officers found the couple, they received reports of a “bloody man” chasing a maintenance worker from the same community in San Juan Mobile Estates where the grisly murders took place.

The bloodied man, identified as 41-year-old Joseph Gerdvil, had reportedly stolen the maintenance worker’s golf cart and was quickly found near a bike path exit on Calle Arroyo, where at least one officer opened fire on Gerdvil, striking him.

“Sheriff’s deputies rendered aid to the suspect until the Orange County Fire Department arrived and was able to transport him to a local hospital where he is currently in stable condition,” the press release said.

Authorities said Gerdvil, who lived in the community with his parents, was still hospitalized and would be charged with second-degree murder once he was medically cleared. They added that Gerdvil likely faces additional charges.

So far, investigators have not been able to provide a motive for the murders.