The twin 15-year-old girls who were fatally shot by their mother’s 38-year-old ex-boyfriend during a domestic violence rampage in Lemon Grove were identified Friday.
Deputies arrived Wednesday about noon to the home in the 7400 block of Central Avenue, where they found Caira Rachel Christopher and Leah Sylvania Christopher dead in the residence and 22-year-old Gary Paul Goode wounded, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Joann Chantel Hoyt, 40, was also in the residence at the time, but was not injured. Her relationship to the victims was not immediately clear.
Paramedics took Goode to a hospital for treatment of his injuries, which were not believed to be life-threatening, Lt. Thomas Seiver of the sheriff’s department said.
Deputies searched the area with help from a patrol helicopter and found Dwayne Edward Groves Jr. hiding in a backyard a few houses away from the shooting. He was arrested shortly after the shooting, according to Seiver.
Witnesses told investigators the suspect had been romantically involved with a woman who lives at the home, Seiver said.
Groves was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.
Groves was being held without bail pending his arraignment, tentatively scheduled for May 1.