New details emerged Thursday, January 15, during the preliminary hearing for Shane Killian, who is facing five counts of murder along with other charges [1] after allegedly shooting his wife, Brenda Morales; their children William Killian, 6, and Wesley Killian, 1; and his in-laws, Marta Morales-Diaz, 56, and Miguel Carcamo-Ramirez, 70. All of the victims died. The shootings took place on July 10, 2024, in the family’s Alameda home on Kitty Hawk Drive.
[2]At the preliminary hearing, which took place at the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland, Brenda Morales’s uncle, Hector Morales, testified that about 20 minutes before the killings, she told him she wanted to leave what had become an abusive relationship with her husband, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle [3].
That information was presented as a “possible motive,” the report stated.
The uncle, who lives in Arkansas, said Brenda had called him crying on the night of the shooting and said she wanted to move to Arkansas because Killian would allegedly fight with her out of jealousy when he got drunk.
“I told her she could come live with me,” he said through a translator. Brenda told her uncle she’d call him the following day, but the call never came, Hector said.
A neighbor, Crispulo Castillo Vinluan, also testified at the hearing. He said he was showering when he heard several “loud booms.” Initially he thought the blasts were “leftover” fireworks from the Fourth of July. But then he heard his doorbell and saw Killian’s wounded father-in-law, Miguel Carcamo-Ramirez, at the door. Carcamo-Ramirez said Killian had shot him and the rest of his family, Castillo Vinluan testified, adding that Carcamo-Ramirez said, “I’m dying.”
Castillo Vinluan, who provided police with video from his home security camera, said he didn’t get to know the family well until the week before the shooting, which occurred about six months after Killian, Morales, and their children moved in. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, even when he went over to the family’s home to socialize on two brief occasions—the Fourth of July and three days before the shooting, he said.
During the hearing, defense attorneys focused on confusion about the suspected shooter that arose when officers arrived at the scene. Killian told police his wife had shot herself and their children, and police found one of the victims with a gun in her hand, Officer Anthony Buck testified.
When the hearing concluded, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Clifford Blakely determined there was enough evidence for Killian, who pled not guilty, to stand trial on the charges, including a special-circumstance allegation that he committed multiple murders, according to the Chronicle report. If convicted, Killian could face a death sentence or life in prison without parole.