Police link suicide to 2 Newport-Mesa murders
Deepa Bharath
NEWPORT-MESA -- Two murders and a suicide later, Costa Mesa police
have found a link between a man found dead in a motel room Sunday and a
Newport Beach woman who killed herself Friday after posting bond on a
murder charge, officials said Tuesday.
Newport Beach police arrested Karen Mandilk, 41, on suspicion of
killing 42-year-old Paul Strazicich of Anaheim on May 16 after she called
dispatchers and reported that she had shot a “house guest” when he tried
to attack her with a knife.
Detectives arrived at Mandilk’s home in the gated Newport Bluffs
Apartment Village and found Strazicich shot to death. Police said Mandilk
was arrested based on her statements and physical evidence found at the
scene.
Mandilk was held in Orange County Jail until she was released May 18
after she posted a $250,000 bail. Officials said that about 9:45 p.m.
Friday, Mandilk went to a public shooting range in Huntington Beach,
rented a gun and shot herself to death there.
Meanwhile on Sunday, police found 42-year-old Neal Daniel Sheldon
lying dead in a room at Countryside Inn & Suites in Costa Mesa. On
Tuesday, police discovered that Sheldon and Mandilk lived together in her
Newport Beach apartment. Officials said their investigation showed
Sheldon checked into the hotel room on May 21.
Initial reports from the Orange County coroner reveal Sheldon died of
head injuries and that he may have died sometime between Thursday and
Friday, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.
“The coroner is carrying out more tests to pin down the exact time of
death,” he said. “We believe that would help us either implicate or
eliminate [Mandilk] as a suspect in this case.”
Also, a big challenge facing detectives now is to determine the nature
of the relationship between Sheldon and Mandilk.
“It’s too early to say anything yet,” Birney said. “There is a lot of
evidence that still needs to be processed and several people who need to
be interviewed.”
Newport Beach police are still investigating Strazicich’s death, said
Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.
“If our detectives are satisfied that [Mandilk] was responsible for
his death, obviously the case won’t go to trial,” he said.
Sheldon’s death is being treated as a murder investigation, Birney
said.
“His wounds were clearly not self-inflicted,” he said. “What remains
to be seen is if [Mandilk] was responsible.”
Birney said the case is convoluted to say the least.
“It’s strange that you have a woman arrested for murder post bond and
then she’s dead,” he said. “Then someone else associated with her is
dead. The best way I can describe it is unusual.”
* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at
(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .
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