LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Chris Taylor, the son of deceased attorney Lawrence Eric Taylor, 81, alleged that his father killed his stepmother Judy Strother Taylor, 75, before turning the gun on himself in order to relieve his wife from the suffering brought on by her failing health.
Chris told the Long Beach Post that Judy was allegedly suffering from a "very advanced form of Parkinson’s disease."
"The pain and suffering were too much for her, and my father didn’t want to continue in this world without the wife he loved so much by his side," he alleged.
The Long Beach Police Department conducted a welfare check on the couple's Naples home after they failed to pick up the phone and respond.
They eventually found the pair dead inside their house on Wednesday, October 4, with both sustaining gunshot wounds to their heads.
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office ruled Lawrence's death as a suicide and Judy's as a murder.
Chris Taylor is partner in Lawrence Eric Taylor's law firm
Chris is the son of the now-deceased prominent attorney Lawrence, who served as the legal adviser in Charles Manson's infamous 1970 murder trial.
Similar to his father, Chris has a remarkable legal career of his own. According to the Taylor & Taylor law firm, Chris graduated from Santa Clara University in 2001 with a honors in Political Science.
He was eventually accepted into the University of San Diego’s School of Law, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award for his performance at the top of his class in Criminal Procedure.
Chris represented his law school at the National Mock Trial Competition and was placed 2nd among students from law schools nationwide. He graduated in 2004, with a rank in the top 30% of his class.
During his first year at law school, Chris was awarded an internship with the Office of the San Diego City Attorney and eventually with the San Diego Public Defender’s Office in the following two years.
In his senior year, Chris was presented with the honor of serving as legal extern to an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeals.
Upon graduation and passing the Bar exam on his first attempt, Chris joined the Orange County Public Defender and served as a Deputy Public Defender for the next 9 years.
During his tenure as a public defender, Chris represented thousands of clients charged with various criminal offenses ranging from misdemeanors to murder.
He was also appointed Supervising Misdemeanor Attorney during his final two years at the office and was placed in charge of training and managing deputy public defenders handling misdemeanor criminal cases, including DUI and DUI-related vehicular homicides.
Chris joined his father’s firm in early 2013 and currently serves as a partner and the Managing Attorney of the firm. He was named in the "Orange County Top Attorneys" by Coast magazine in 2015.
The following year, Chris was dubbed a "Rising Star" among Southern California attorneys for "attaining a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement" in the DUI defense field.
As per his Taylor & Taylor bio, Chris has attended numerous seminars, including the ones presented by the National College for DUI Defense, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, California Public Defenders Association and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
He has also provided lectures on jury trial tactics and pre-trial motions to suppress evidence.
What did Chris Taylor say about Lawrence Eric Taylor and Judy Strother Taylor's death?
Speaking to the Long Beach Post, Chris said that he believes his father shot Judy before killing himself in order to relieve her from the pain of her consistent health issues.
While officials are yet to share a motive behind what is being dubbed a "murder-suicide," Chris said his stepmother’s health largely declined over the last several years and that Lawrence was involved in her care.
"Through countless doctor appointments, hospital emergency room visits, and unending days and nights spent coping with her medical conditions, they never left each other’s side," Chris said.
"And that’s how their lives ended….by each other’s side," he added. Chris also shared that his father and stepmother were together for more than 30 years and were well-known in their neighborhood.
"They both lived amazing and accomplished lives as individuals and as a couple," he told the publication.
Chris also mentioned that Judy's "quality of life suffered greatly" after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years ago.
He claimed that the disease "began robbing her of the normal energetic and caring personality that had always endeared her to so many family and friends."
In his email to the outlet, Chris also thanked his friends and neighbors who "cared for and loved Judy and Larry so much."
"I cannot express the heartache I am feeling right now, but I know that those who knew and loved them will also take solace in that they left this world together," he mentioned.
"I will forever love and miss them," Chris concluded.
