Gilroy – A 78-year-old man shot his former daughter-in-law early
Wednesday morning outside a northwest Gilroy home before her
boyfriend wrestled him to the ground, police said.
Gilroy – A 78-year-old man shot his former daughter-in-law early Wednesday morning outside a northwest Gilroy home before her boyfriend wrestled him to the ground, police said.
Charles Hanley was arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder after shooting his former daughter-in-law, an unidentified Gilroy woman, and trying to shoot her boyfriend, identified by neighbors as homeowner Lynn Ryle. Hanley confronted the couple outside 971 Festa Aglio Court at 5:54am as the couple opened their garage door to leave for work. The gunman fired twice, missing both times. The boyfriend then charged at Hanley, trying to wrest the gun from him. As they struggled, the gun went off, wounding the woman’s right thigh.
After the shots rang out, alarmed neighbors heard the woman’s screams, and dialed 911.
“I wasn’t sure if it was fireworks or something, so I laid in bed for a minute,” said Christina Diapoulis, 18, a high school student who lives nearby. “Then I heard a woman yelling, ‘There’s a gun, there’s a gun.’ ” Diapoulis ran to her mother’s bedroom, and called 911.
Police said the victim’s boyfriend forced Hanley to the ground and ultimately disarmed him, pinning him down until officers arrived. Three police officers and a supervising sergeant sped to Festa Aglio Court along with Gilroy firefighter/paramedics, who attended to the injured woman. Ambulances rushed her to an area trauma center, where she was treated for her injuries and later released.
The incident is the second violent episode to strike Lynn Ryle’s home, where his late wife Kathryn died of a gunshot wound to the chest in September 2006. Police are still investigating the 48-year-old woman’s “suspicious death,” initially reported to be a suicide. Lynn Ryle told police he found his wife severely wounded in their home that Sunday afternoon, just after 2:30pm. The woman was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
Detective Frank Bozzo could not be reached Wednesday afternoon to comment on the status of the investigation. When Bozzo was last interviewed earlier this month, the detective said he was still waiting on a key piece of evidence before deciding whether to press criminal charges.
“The gunshot did kill her,” said Detective Sgt. Noel Provost, commenting on the case last year, “but we haven’t determined who pulled the trigger on the gun.”
Hanley is the sole suspect in Wednesday’s attack. The San Jose man apparently drove from his home in Lathrop Drive in San Jose to confront his former daughter-in-law. Police said Hanley was angry with her, but did not specify why. After Hanley was transported to county jail, police impounded and towed his car for storage, while crime scene investigators combed Ryle’s trim gray home for evidence Wednesday afternoon. Two flags fly over the home: one for the United States, the other for the U.S. Army.
“We’re pretty unnerved,” said neighbor Paula Hannah, glancing down the street. “I’ve got kids. We’re not used to waking up to gunshots.”
The case has been assigned to Detective Stan Devlin. Anyone with information on the case may call 846-0350 or leave an anonymous tip on the Gilroy Tip Line, 846-0330.
