Mother rushed her children inside as scream, gunshots pierced quiet of Fresno neighborhood
Lilliana Perez was in the front yard of her north Fresno home last spring, enjoying an afternoon of gardening, when she heard a gut-wrenching scream and then gunfire.
“I turned to where the noise was coming from and then I heard the gunshots just keep going off,” said Perez, testifying in the preliminary hearing Monday for Julian McElhaney, 23.
McElhaney is accused of killing his parents, 64-year-old Sylvia McElhaney and 55-year-old William McElhaney, shooting each multiple times.
Perez said she grabbed her children and rushed them into her house once the shooting started.
“I was afraid I couldn’t run fast enough, I was afraid he would come our way,” Perez testified.
She called 911 and when officers arrived they found the alleged shooter, McElhaney, on the front lawn of his parent’s home on 10th Street near Bullard Avenue.
He raised his hands and followed orders to lay on the ground. He was handcuffed by Fresno Police Officer Rick Harrell who was first on the scene.
Harrell testified that McElhaney was cooperative, not under the influence and offered no resistance.
“He seemed calm,” Harrell said.
As backup police officers arrived, Harrell went to McElhaney’s father who was lying a short distance away, face down on the grass. He attempted medical aid, but it was too late.
“There were numerous gunshot wounds to his upper torso,” Harrell testified. “There was no pulse, and no signs of life.”
Harrell testified that police found live and spent rounds from several weapons, including a handgun, shotgun and an AR-15 style rifle. There were also two discarded magazines on the porch.
When police were first dispatched to the shooting, neighbors reported hearing between 10 to 20 gunshots.
McElhaney’s mother was discovered deceased inside the home’s main bathroom. She, too, had been shot multiple times, Harrell said.
At the time of his arrest, police suggested mental illness may be a factor in the murders. That issue came up again on Monday.
What alleged killer said to officers
Harrell testified that when McElhaney was in his patrol vehicle waiting to be transported to police headquarters, he asked Harrell if the state has a death penalty and if he will receive a mental health evaluation.
McElhaney also is alleged to have told Fresno Police Officer Jason Jones, “Ironically, I murdered two people today and I feel free, even though I know I am going to be in prison for the rest of my life.”
As he was waiting for detectives to arrive, Jones testified that the defendant said he was hungry. Jones bought him a sandwich and gave it to him in the holding cell.
Jones said the gesture appeared to surprise McElhaney.
“As I was walking away he asked me, ‘Why are you not treating me like a monster? I told him it wasn’t my place to judge anyone. And he said, ‘Thank you.’”
McElhaney is being defended by Angelica Rivera and Tina Wong. The prosecutor is David Olmos.
If convicted of all charges, McElhaney faces a potential death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The District Attorney’s Office is conducting the necessary analysis on whether to seek the death penalty and will announce that decision at a later date.
The preliminary hearing continues Tuesday in Department 50.
