Kyle Kurian (L) and Greta Kurian (R). Photo from Greta Kurian’s Facebook page.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has declared the deaths of young married couple Kyle and Greta Kurian as a murder-suicide. According to their records, the cases are closed.
Greta Kurian’s cause of death is listed as a gunshot wound of the head, with the manner of death listed as “homicide.” Kyle Kurian’s manner of death is listed as “suicide,” with his cause of death also listed as a gunshot wound to the head.
Greta, 22, was found dead and her 25-year-old husband Kyle Kurian, a South Gate Police officer, wounded in their Long Beach condominium near Wilson High School on the evening of Monday, November 21. Greta was declared dead at the scene, while her husband was transported to a local hospital, where he died early Tuesday morning.
Their two children—a toddler and infant—were found unharmed in the building and taken into protective custody by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services Monday night, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).
A close friend of the family of Greta Kurian spoke out over the holiday weekend in a public Facebook post, seeking to clarify the events surrounding the wife and mother’s death.
“The fact is Kyle Kurian murdered….yes I said MURDERED his wife, Greta by shooting her last Monday, the very day he picked up his uniform and gun to start working at South Gate PD,” wrote Robert Simmons, a corporal for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Simmons described the avalanche of new information he had received since their deaths, describing his surprise and horror at the abuse Greta had allegedly experienced at the hands of Kurian.
“She was scared to death of him and wanted to try to get away from him for fear of her own life and the lives of Kaylee and Lilah,” Simmons said.
According to Simmons, Kurian, who had been employed as a police officer since mid-2014, was laid off earlier this year after pulling a gun on an individual while off duty. Kurian was hired by the South Gate Police Department shortly after.
“I’m pretty sure looking back now that his getting fired at the time was justified,” said Simmons. “Greta didn’t deserve this. She was a beautiful rose who’s young life was cut short by being murdered by Kyle. It’s both heartbreaking and angering. I’m tired of crying myself to sleep every night because he killed her and the nightmares I’ve been having just imagining what happened.”
Greta’s family is raising money through a GoFundMe campaign to create a trust fund ensuring the couple’s children can attend college. To donate to Kaylee and Lilah’s education fund, click here. As of Tuesday afternoon, the campaign had raised $18,391 out of its $200,000 goal.