Man accused of killing his California lobbyist parents was armed with replica handgun

The 19-year-old man accused of shooting his adoptive mother and her boyfriend at their Loomis home was armed with a replica handgun when he was shot by a Placer County deputy Monday, and authorities still are determining the cause of death for the pair.

Dennis Henry Lynch was charged with two counts of murder Wednesday in Placer Superior Court in the deaths of well-known California Capitol lobbyists Kathryn Lynch, 67, and her boyfriend, Gerald Upholt, 80.

Lynch also faces special allegations of using “deadly and dangerous weapon(s)” in the slayings, but court filings do not specify what type of weapon was used.

The couple’s bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition and an autopsy will be required to determine the precise cause of death, according to two law enforcement sources who were not authorized to speak publicly because the matter is still under investigation.

The sources described the replica as a realistic-looking handgun that would appear to be loaded with ammunition. One source said the bodies were covered with blankets when they were found and appeared to have been stabbed.

The charges filed Wednesday include a special circumstance of multiple murders, meaning prosecutors could seek a death penalty prosecution or pursue a life without possibility of parole sentence.

The court filings also charge Lynch with a misdemeanor count of resisting an officer and a misdemeanor count of “brandishing a replica gun,” when he allegedly drew it “in a threatening manner” toward a Placer deputy.

The charges also include special allegations the the slayings were committed while Lynch was out on bail or personal recognizance because he was facing felony charges involving allegations that he had stolen a Toyota forklift last November and a dirt bike in a separate incident in January.

Lynch also was facing a misdemeanor count of possessing paraphernalia for smoking a controlled substance, as well as a special allegation that he committed the dirt bike theft while on bail or his own recognizance from the November forklift incident, court papers say.

He had pleaded not guilty in both cases and was scheduled to appear in court Friday morning for early status conferences on both cases.

Instead, he is being held in the Placer County Jail without bail and is due to make his first court appearance April 13.

Placer County deputies initially went to Kathryn Lynch’s home on Lake Forest Drive in Loomis at 10 a.m. Monday after an employee asked for a welfare check because the couple had not been heard from for a few days.

Deputies knocked on the door and smelled a foul order, sheriff’s officials said, and while they were working to obtain a search warrant Dennis Lynch came to the door with a handgun and ran into a forest.

Deputies pursued Lynch, finally finding him in a gated community off Auburn Folsom Road, where they confronted him and ended up wounding him, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Lynch’s injuries were not life-threatening, and after being treated he was booked.

A family friend who did not want to be named said Kathryn Lynch adopted her son from Russia when he was 3, and two sources said Dennis Lynch had a juvenile criminal record.

Kathryn Lynch, who ran Lynch and Associates in Sacramento, was well known in Capitol circles, where she lobbied on behalf of bail agents, hunting groups and other entities.

Relatives in Iowa declined to comment Wednesday, but Capitol workers took to social media to express their sorrow over the slayings.

“Today’s news about the murder of a fellow lobbyist is shocking and serves to remind us all: be kind to even your fiercest rivals,” tweeted Jennifer Fearing of Fearless Advocacy, which works on behalf of non profits and wildlife and animal welfare groups. “Maybe even be especially kind to them.”

Sacramento bail bondsman Topo Padilla described both Lynch and Upholt, who lobbied on Second Amendment, hunting and outdoor sporting pursuits, as kind figures.

“Kathy, as a lobbyist, made you feel like you were the only client she had,” Padilla said. “And now, finding out how many she did have, I don’t know how she got it all done in a day’s work.”

Upholt, Padilla added, “was one of the kindest souls I know in my life.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 12:04 PM.