Woman killed in Eastside home

Marisa O’Neil

An Eastside woman died in her home Tuesday morning after she called

911 to say her father-in-law had shot her, police said.

Lilia Cheron, 37, called Costa Mesa Police at about 8:30 a.m.

saying Theodore Cheron had shot her inside their Jeanette Place home,

Lt. Ron Smith said. Police showed up at the scene and forced entry

into the home, where they found Lilia Cheron dead in an upstairs

bedroom.

“We found Theodore [Cheron] in a lower bedroom,” Smith said. “He

apparently shot himself once in the head. He was standing and still

conscious and surrendered.”

Theodore Cheron, 84, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa

Ana, where his condition is unknown, Smith said. If he survives, he

will be charged with murder, Smith added.

The woman’s husband, 52-year-old George Cheron, was at work when

the incident happened, and their 12-year-old daughter was at school,

Smith said.

Lilia Cheron was shot in the stomach, neck and top of her head

with a small-caliber gun, Smith said. Theodore Cheron was holding a

handgun when police showed up and the weapon was taken from the

scene.

It appeared the couple and child lived in the home with Theodore

Cheron, Smith said. Police responded to a disturbance between the

woman and her father-in-law in 2003, Smith said, but no arrests were

made.

Theodore Cheron moved to the home in 1951 from Russia, Smith said,

and Lilia Cheron had moved there from Russia within the past five

years.

For hours after the shooting, police tape surrounded the home,

which is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac with other single-family

homes.

“We rarely get trouble around here,” said John Christensen, who

lives next door to the Cheron’s home.

Passing motorists slowed down to inspect the scene. Some stopped

to ask what had happened and expressed alarm at the shooting.

“Another thing to pray about,” one woman said with a sigh.

Neighbors didn’t know many details about the family but said they

hadn’t heard of any problems.

“This is a quiet neighborhood,” said Frank Leal, who lives around

the corner on 23rd Street.

Many residents were likely at work or on their way to work at the

time of the shooting, Smith said. Only one neighbor called in to

report hearing shots fired, he said.

This was the second domestic dispute that ended in a fatal

shooting in the city this year.

In May, 70-year-old Norman Hansen allegedly shot his son,

43-year-old David Hansen, and then himself in their Mesa North home.

Norman Hansen later died of his injuries.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.