Tarzan Star Ron Ely's Wife Stabbed To Death, Police Shoot Suspect Son Dead

News By TooFab Staff |
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An elderly woman was stabbed to death, while the suspect was shot dead by police.

UPDATE 3:00PM 10/16/2019:

Police confirmed the deceased was Ely's wife Valerie Lundeen.

The suspect who was shot dead by police was the couple's 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely.

Original story below 7:39AM 10/16/2019:

Two people have been killed at the home of "Tarzan" star Ron Ely.

Police confirmed that an elderly woman was stabbed to death, while the suspect died in a shootout with officers.

The 81-year-old actor was not among the dead, whose identities have not yet been released.

On Tuesday night, deputies responded to a family disturbance call on Mariposa Drive in Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, when they found the woman's body.

They immediately began to search the property for the suspect, summoning air support to help, and locking down the area by issuing a shelter in place order to surrounding residents.

"On the very property that that female homicide victim was located, the deputies came across the suspect," Lt. Erik Raney told KEYT.

"He unfortunately presented a threat to the deputies, in defense they fired on the suspect and he is currently deceased."

He said several deputies opened fire, but could not yet say how many shots were fired. No officers were injured.

"It's an unfortunate tragic incident out here; now starts the long process of investigating what exactly happened," he said.

A disabled elderly man who was also at the home at the time was uninjured, but taken to hospital for evaluation. Lt Raney could not confirm if the man was Ely, nor had he yet established any relation between him, the victim or the suspect.

"All I can say at this point is that the call was of a family disturbance, but we don't have any confirmation of the relationship of the homicide victim to the suspect who was confronted by deputies," he said.

The 6'4" Ely is best known for playing the lead role in 1966 NBC series "Tarzan".

According to the Daily Mail, the female victim was Ely's wife of 35 years, Valerie Lundeen. He and the former Miss Flordia share three children.

CNN reported that the victim and the elderly man at the property were married, and that the man — whose speech was impeded by a medical condition — told police "another family member was involved in the stabbing."

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