Apparent murder-suicide leaves two young orphans

DINUBA — An apparent murder-suicide Wednesday left two small children without their parents.

According to police reports, a Fresno man received a call from Carlos Herrera, a 26-year-old Dinuba resident, asking him to pick up Herrera’s two children from his residence on Lyndsey Way Wednesday afternoon. When the friend arrived, he found Herrera’s two children, a boy and a girl ages 1 and 5, in a pickup truck.

He also discovered the body of Clarissa Gonzalez, Herrera’s live-in girlfriend and mother of their two children. Gonzalez, 22, was dead of a gunshot wound to the head from a large caliber handgun.

The male friend contacted Dinuba police and reported a suicide. When they arrived, police found Herrera dead of a gunshot wound to the head as well. Police believe Herrara was the shooter in both deaths, though neighbors didn’t report hearing any gunshots.

There were no prior reports of domestic violence involving the couple, according to the Dinuba Police Department.