Crystal Adams, 34

Died Jan. 25, 2010 at 7:44 a.m.

Crystal Adams, a 34-year-old white woman, was strangled and died Monday, Jan. 25, in the 38700 block of 31st Street East in Palmdale, authorities said

Adams was allegedly killed by her brother, who authorities say also killed his ex-wife, Jennifer Darling-Wade, a 33-year-old white woman, before committing suicide, police say.

Sheriff’s deputies are still trying to piece together what happened.

Lt. Patrick Nelson of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said Phillip Adams, 31, called his father at work about 7 a.m. Monday to say he had killed his sister and was planning to take his own life. The father, whose name was not released, rushed to the family's Palmdale home where he found his daughter dead.

Her white Mustang was gone, and deputies said there were no gunshot wounds on her body or other apparent physical trauma. Coroner's investigators later determined that she had been strangled.

While the father called police, his son was walking up to the home of Darling-Wade, Phillip Adams' ex-wife, in the 45300 block of Beech Avenue in Lancaster, Nelson said. Darling-Wade spoke with him briefly when she opened the door, Nelson said. Then Adams shot her several times in front of their 9-year-old daughter.

Darling-Wade’s current husband, who was in another room, called police, who found her dead at the scene.

Adams then fled in his sister's Mustang, driving along a rural road north of Lancaster until he reached the area of Avenue E at Sierra Highway, where he pulled over to the side of the road.

Sheriff’s deputies found him soon afterward, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Nelson said he did not know why Adams shot either of the women, but noted that Adams and Darling-Wade had ongoing custody issues over their daughter.

The girl was traumatized, Nelson said.

“She basically just lost both parents,” he said.

— Amina Khan