Facing foreclosure, Pasadena woman may have killed herself

A Pasadena woman facing foreclosure and eviction was found dead in her partially burned home Monday, and police said she may have set her own house on fire and then committed suicide.

From LATimes.com:

Firefighters responded to a call in the 1000 block of North Wilson Avenue about 5 a.m. Monday, said Lt. John Dewar of the Pasadena Police Department. They found Wanda Dunn, 53, in a back bedroom, he said.

She had one gunshot wound, Dewar said. A gun was found nearby.

Dunn was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"We received reports that her home was in foreclosure and she was going to be evicted Monday, and that may have been the reason for the arson and the death," Dewar said. "It's very tragic."

...Neighbor Scott Harden, 36, said he had heard from others that Dunn was going to kill herself because she was going to lose her house. He said he also knew that she was apparently going to be evicted on Monday, "so I was on red alert."

On Sunday night, he said, he saw Dunn moving boxes and packing up her car. About 5 a.m. the next morning, he said he saw smoke coming from the house and immediately called 911.

Homes in the neighborhood are valued at roughly $600,000, according to Zillow.com.

 

Comments

[socalinvestor]

I'm glad Peter posted this article. Like many of the readers of this blog, I see the housing meltdown as a golden opportunity. I'm aware of the pain its causing to so many but its easy to dismiss it when I think of my own prudent behavior when these folks were anything but.

I still firmly believe that housing prices shouldn't be propped up, but I also think foreclosure notices should come with a pamphlet or hotline giving these homeowners a way to get back on their feet. Losing one's home is a traumatic thing, and many of these homeowners were decent people who simply made bad decisions.

[going anon on this]

Ugh.

I fear this is going to happen more frequently, and it makes me feel queasy when stories like this are featured on this blog. I mean, intellectually, I know it’s relevant and as a story, is inherently interesting. So I fully understand why Peter posted it.

Its just that, like the random realtor who got mugged at an open house or the Murder/Suicides of the laid-off Price Waterhouse guy, or the Fat Cat, I just hate how these anomaly stories are now a part of the stuff we at which we slow down to gawk.

Not blaming anyone. I guess, this is just the selfish part of me wishing to keep all of this as nameless, faceless median-price-dips and Case-Schiller indexes.

[Bubblewatcher]

I hope her mortgage broker is happy.

[BungalowGirl]

Holy cow, this happened a block from us, I walk past this house every time I take my kids to the park. I didn't know this neighbor, but how sad that she felt this was her only option.

I keep tabs on the sales and list prices in the neighborhood, and I'd say that Zillow's estimate is on the high side. There are beautiful Craftsmen in very nice condition that are worth a lot, but there are also a lot of very small houses, smallish lots (5k-7k), in so-so shape. It has retained value better than some parts of Pasadena, though, maybe because of the Craftsman charm.

[mbob]

Why have the suicides of thousands upon thousands of small farmers in India been ignored as irrelevant? Are they less human?

Now that globalization has made available the same kind of hopeless despair domestically, we can enjoy home-grown versions of the last, desperate choice of those defrauded by the lies, greed and cruelty of the free marketers.

Milton Friedman, rot in hell.

[TheUrbanHouse]

very sad...

:'(

Owning a home should never cause such pain.

[W.C. Varones]

Dunn is number 52 in Greenspan's Body Count:

http://wcvarones.blogspot.com/2008/10/greenspans-body-count-little-old-lady.html

[Laker]

I think it is 1091 N Wilson Ave. Got foreclosed in late April by....Washington Mutual (or now JPMorgan) for $467,051. So it took them about 5.5 months to kick the previous owner out...
Also, it was refinanced about 5 times since 2003, and last mortgage is 100% financing 80/20 loan for $400,000 first and $100,000 HELOC. However, WAMU foreclosed and claimed $467,000...makes me wonder if this is a loan from 2005 for $400,000 (the $100,000 HELOC was wiped out to 0) so it must be OPTION ARM LOAN that increased by $50,000-60,000 (about 10% recast? plus fees)
I actually disagree with you Peter. This house is sure not worth $600,000 - as nobody wanted to pay $467,000 for it...if it was, someone could have snatched it for $467K.
From my math, it means that house is worth less than $467,000. Probably less than $400,000.

Bottom line, it is very sad for this person to lose her life over this. Tragedy. sadly many more cases like this will follow.
In any case, this area is heavily infested with pre-foreclosures, Auctions to be, and REOS. No surprise.

[image009]

I guess renting really IS that bad.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Speaking for myself, I rather not profit from other people's misfortunes. And as sad as I am about the human costs, I also feel humbled by and helpless before the overwhelming forces of nature.

And I am not sure how I would feel if I benefited in an election from our nation's economic sufferings. Would it be the same helpnessness as I feel now? Or would it be something like 'I would give up my victory if the country can get well again?'

[peartree]

Suicide will rise...as will armed robberies and home invasions.

If you're smart, you'll sell your fancy car now and buy an unassuming ride. And don't walk around looking and acting rich. Old money has always known this.

[The Original RZ]

This is tragic and sad, but I don't think the bad economy or the likelihood of foreclosure by themselves should be blamed. There are many people whofile for bankruptcy and/or lose their homes who don't commit suicide. Those who do commit suicide often are clinically depressed or mentally unstable and are in serious need of help to stabilize their emotions. But I'm not sure how to help these folks if they don't help themselves by looking for assistance.

[Oh Boy]

mbob, your understanding of economics overwhelmingly substandard. Your so-called "lies, greed and cruelty of the free marketers" is what gives the rest of us the opportunity to purchase homes at a reasonable price.

I can't figure out if you are a clueless left-wing socialist or a hypocritical left-wing socialist. You can't have it both ways. Either the market dictates prices based upon supply and demand or we live in the USSR where we are provided for based on our needs. I for one don't want Bush, McCain or Obama to tell me what MY needs are.

And for your information, farm subsidies are BS and if farms can't sustain themselves, then they should not be in business. But I guess you like paying double or triple what we could be paying for sugar, wheat, cotton, rice, etc.

And similar to the housing bubble which made the few in the RE industry rich to the detriment of the masses, farm subsidies provide wealth to few farmers at the detriment of the consumer.

Communist socialist policy has proven ineffective. Well regulated free markets are what allows the USS to be the leader in innovation and way of life. The problem was that the markets were not well regulated.

[Rich]

"Either the market dictates prices based upon supply and demand or we live in the USSR where we are provided for based on our needs."

Or we recognize that there's a middle way, where institutions like banks and mortgage brokers conform to the law and professional standards of their industry in the marketplace so that unsophisticated buyers don't lose it all, including their lives. This presidential election is partly about restoring the balance between the public sector, which extremists like yourself don't even recognize as vital and legitimate, and the private sector, which has been granted unwarranted favors by the GOP for 30 years for reasons of sheer greed and ideology...

[mbob]

Oh Boy

Find a cheap community college and go take a history class.

The latest New Yorker has a great article about how Crawford, Texas souvenir shops are offering massive discounts on Bush-themed goods.

Time to go load up, then array your new bargains at your Ayn Rand altar.

[geomath]

I agree with you, RZ. As sad as this woman's death is, there are many people who experience far, far worse things who do NOT commit suicide.

In addition, people kill themselves every day over issues far less serious than foreclosure. Years ago, when I was in high school, one of my friends killed himself at 17 because his girlfriend broke up with him. At least, that was the "official" reason. The sad truth was, he'd struggled with severe depression for some time, and if this hadn't pushed him over the edge, it's highly likely that something else would have.

It wasn't his ex-girlfriend's fault that my friend committed suicide, and it wasn't the bank's fault (or the mortgage broker, or the RE agent) that this woman killed herself.

[Lillian]

Foreclosure Suicide

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