Murrieta Homicide Victim Identified

MURRIETA, CA — One of two people found dead inside a Murrieta home over the weekend has been publicly identified by the Riverside County coroner's office. He was 65-year-old Paul Burke of San Diego.

The other person, a woman from Murrieta, was also found dead after police went to the Jonquil Circle home on Friday night to conduct a welfare check after a "concerned" family member had called authorities, according to police and coroner's officials.

The coroner has yet to publicly identify the woman. A report indicates that though she was found on Friday night — it's not yet clear when she suffered the injuries that ultimately led to her death.

Police say they went to the house around 9:45 p.m. Friday to check on the residents. After getting no response when they got to the front door, they went inside the home and found the dead man and woman, along with 25-year-old Joseph Burke.

Burke was "uncooperative" and soon barricaded himself in part of the home. A SWAT team headed out to the location and after an hours-long standoff, Burke was taken into custody around 2:39 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Jail booking records indicate Burke was taken to the French Valley jail, where he was booked on two counts of second degree murder and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $1 million and he's due to appear in court on Wednesday.

"The investigation is ongoing but appears to be domestic related and contained to the residence," police said.

These two deaths make for the second and third homicides this year in Murrieta, a town which saw two total in 2018 and one in 2017.

In July, a man killed a woman outside a local home by beating her with a log, according to police and court records.