John Patrick Snowling’s spouse, Marie, as soon as referred to as him “very, very controlling.”
One in all Marie Snowling’s closest buddies remembered him as a “loopy husband.”
At numerous occasions, John Snowling was a veteran cop reaching out to the homeless, a union boss accused of soiled methods and a non-public investigator. On Wednesday evening, prosecutors say, Snowling, 59, grew to become a killer in a melee that left three victims useless and 6 others injured, together with his estranged spouse. Marie Snowling was shot as soon as within the decrease jaw and was recuperating from her accidents Thursday at UCI Medical Heart.
John Snowling himself was fatally shot in a gun battle with Orange County Sheriff’s deputies outdoors the well-known biker bar and household restaurant Prepare dinner’s Nook in Trabuco Canyon, throughout $8 Spaghetti Evening.
Courtroom data present the Snowlings separated in November 2020 after practically 22 years of marriage. She filed for divorce in December 2022. The couple have two grownup youngsters.
Tristan teGroen, John Snowling’s legal professional within the divorce, stated there have been no indicators of acrimony within the paperwork: no requests for a restraining order, no allegations of home abuse, no submitting for alimony. Either side appeared calm and measured, teGroen stated.
For associated information, see: Prepare dinner’s Nook mass shooter, a ‘loopy’ ex-cop, reportedly was focusing on spouse
“It’s a complete shock. … There was nothing on the radar that indicated there may very well be violence,” teGroen stated. “There was no rush to get cash from my shopper. All the things was labored out … to maintain the battle down. There was no battle.”
A day after the taking pictures, teGroen stated he was reeling from the mass of cellphone calls he was receiving about his shopper.
“Right here I’ve a retired officer, he was articulate, composed, a very good reminiscence. I definitely obtained no complaints from the opposite legal professional.”
TeGroen stated that after separating, John Snowling lived in Heath, Ohio, whereas Marie lived in Orange County. Nobody gave the impression to be utilizing their home in Camarillo, he stated.
Kenneth H.J. Henjum, Marie Snowling’s divorce legal professional, declined to speak concerning the case.
“The Snowling household is in shock on the occasions from final evening and are requesting their privateness,” Henjum stated.
Marie Snowling talked about her troubled marriage over cigarettes and drinks a few month in the past with acquaintance C. Cahill at a Mission Viejo bar.
“She stated he was very, very controlling and she or he lastly acquired the energy to depart him and she or he wasn’t positive what to do,” Cahill of Mission Viejo remembered Thursday. “She stated her youngsters have been very supportive.”
William Mosby, who thought-about Marie a daughter, stated in an interview on the hospital that John Snowling was not doing nicely with the estrangement. Mosby referred to as him “a loopy husband.”
Within the aftermath of the mass taking pictures at certainly one of Orange County’s most historic companies, questions remained over who was John Snowling and what spurred the assault.
State data present Snowling most just lately labored as a non-public investigator, on his personal and with Norman A. Traub and Associates in Thousand Oaks. Brock Avery, who took over the agency in 2018 and served as assistant police chief in Ventura, stated Snowling dealt with one case for the corporate. Traub and Associates makes a speciality of office investigations and pre-employment background checks.
“I’m shocked and it’s tragic. My coronary heart goes out to everybody concerned,” stated Avery, who wouldn’t remark additional.
As a non-public investigator, Snowling had a firearms allow that data present expired in 2017. It wasn’t instantly clear if he had an area allow. On the time of the killings, Snowling was armed with three handguns and a shotgun, which he used to have interaction deputies.
Snowling began his legislation enforcement profession in 1982, working as a reserve officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Division. He was employed by the Ventura Police Division in November 1986 and retired as a sergeant in February 2014.
Whereas on the division, Snowling served as president of the police union and was accused by some critics of political soiled methods in a 2009 cellphone survey focusing on a metropolis councilman who championed pension reform, in line with the Ventura County Star.
Snowling additionally was lively in Ventura’s “restorative policing” program, reaching out to persistent vagrants and the homeless within the metropolis’s downtown space, looking for them shelter, in line with a December 2011 article within the VC Reporter. He additionally went to California State College, Northridge, and graduated with a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration in 1997, in line with his resume.
On the morning after the taking pictures, Orange County detectives have been serving a search warrant at Snowling’s home in Camarillo, in search of solutions to the taking pictures spree.
“It’s an enormous thriller that must be defined,” stated teGroen.
