Robin Kaye attends the 2014 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at Mack Sennett Studios in Los Angeles.
(Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images for Guild of Music Supervisors)

ENCINO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Charges are expected to be filed Thursday against the man suspected of killing an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband in their Encino home.

Investigators say it appears they were killed when they returned home and the suspect was still there.

Raymond Boodarian, 22, was arrested in the murders of “American Idol” executive Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca. Both were 70 years old.

Boodarian had been charged more than a year ago with battery and exhibiting a deadly weapon, but those charges were later dismissed. Court documents show that three months before the dismissal orders, Boodarian was determined to be mentally incompetent.

Los Angeles Police Department investigators said they found a handgun in the suspect’s home.

“We believe its the murder weapon, but pending forensic analysis we’re not ready to say so yet,” said LAPD Lt. Guy Golan.

Lt. Golan said they were able to track down Boodarian thanks to surveillance cameras in the victim’s Encino home.

The video shows that the murders happened last Thursday and that the suspect jumped the fence and entered the home through an unlocked sliding glass door. Kaye and Deluca came home about 30 minutes later.

“There was a confrontation that ensued which resulted in the victims receiving multiple gunshot wounds and succumbing to those injuries,” Lt. Golan said.

LAPD said it received two calls from people reporting a man jumping fences in the neighborhood. Officers were sent but left after no one answered at the home and nothing looked suspicious.

Kaye and Deluca’s home has been described by investigators as highly fortified, surrounded by an 8-foot wall with spikes and with surveillance cameras throughout the home. However, the killer found an unsecured door.

“If you’re looking at preventing burglaries, it starts with locking securing all windows first and doors,” said LAPD Capt. Mike Bland.

LAPD also suggests adding lights to your property and getting a dog — their barking can often convince a burglar to look elsewhere. But the best security measure, Bland says, is a system of surveillance cameras.

“A lot of times surveillance video is our best tool to identify who committed the crime, so its very important for us to have access to that video. and if its of a good quality, then we may be able to use things like facial recognition to identify who’s doing these things,” Capt. Bland said.

A criminal history

Eyewitness News learned that Boodarian has a criminal history, including charges of brandishing a knife and criminal threats against his stepfather in 2023, and battery against his mother and sister in 2024.

All three misdemeanor cases were dismissed late last year, with court documents showing that three months prior, Boodarian was declared mentally incompetent.

“Some of the questions are going to be, why was this case dismissed? Was he put on some type of diversion where he proved to the court and everyone he had since rehabilitated? Or did he slip through the cracks and this case was dismissed by accident, which is very rare?” said criminal defense attorney, Lou Shapiro.

Shapiro explined how California’s legal system may have played a role in the release of Kaye and Deluca’s accused killer.

“There’s a separate court, just for people with mental health issues, if they are eligible for that court, they usually get put on a different track. And for the most part, most people that go on that track do well,” Shapiro said. “But every so often we have a situation like this, where it didn’t go the way it should have gone, and very tragically we have two people who are dead because of it.”