The father of former NASCAR driver
Robby Gordon strangled his wife then shot himself in their Southern California
home, police said Thursday.
The deaths
of Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57, were an apparent murder-suicide,
Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez said a day after the bodies were found. No further
details on the motive or circumstances were released.
The couple
were the father and stepmother of ex-NASCAR star Robby Gordon, who fought back
tears and expressed disbelief Thursday outside the home on a Southern
California hillside where he grew up and developed his love of racing.
"I'm
so sad, and I can't believe it," the racing star said outside the house.
"I grew up on this property my whole life,"
Robby
Gordon recalled how his father, known as "Baja Bob and a racer in his own
right," instilled in him a love for competition and motorsports in the
Orange County neighborhood, where many residents own horses and dirt riding
trails line the suburban streets.
Gordon
said he previously lived in two different houses on the property, and had given
his father the home 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles where
police discovered the bodies Wednesday after receiving a 911 call from a
neighbor making a welfare check at the request of relatives.
Robby
Gordon told the Orange County Register that family members had become concerned
when his father missed a doctor's appointment.
The
younger Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called
Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father.
The elder
Gordon started out in horse racing at the local track in Los Alamitos,
California, before getting into auto racing.
"He taught
me at a young age that 1 horsepower wasn't going to be enough — go do something
different," Gordon recalled his father saying. "And I was fortunate
enough to do something different."
Residents
in the upscale neighborhood shared stories about the couple's friendly ways —
swapping jokes with neighbors, gifting tickets to racing events and delivering
feed personally to local equestrians.
"I
can still see them walking hand in hand, walking their dogs down the
street," said John Reina, who lives across the street. "To kind of
wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do."
Robby
Gordon said he would speak about the deaths in more detail once authorities
conclude their investigation.
"The
truth will come out, what went down there," he said.
Racer Dale
Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he was praying for the Gordon family. "Hope
they find strength and support," he said.
"Heartbreaking
news this morning. Thinking of the Gordon family and friends," NASCAR star
Jimmie Johnson said on Twitter.
