Tragic Sacramento family shot dead in ‘booby-trapped’ home revealed

The tragic family of four found dead in a murder-suicide inside a “booby-trapped” home in Sacramento is pictured for the first time — with stunned neighbors telling The California Post the grisly scene was hard to believe.

David Vallerga, his wife Lindsey G. Peralta Vallerga, and their adorable children, 11-year-old Sydney Peralta Vallerga and 13-year-old Colton Drake Peralta Vallerga were discovered with gunshot wounds inside the Rancho Cordova home on Tuesday, neighbors told The Post.

“Their kids played with our kids. We’ve been their neighbors for over 14 years. I think I only ever saw smiles on their faces,” said a neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified.

Another neighbor, a middle-aged woman who lives nearby, said the family was warm and welcoming, stopping by to drop off eggs from their farm. “When this happened, we were like, ‘Oh, they didn’t seem off,’” she recalled.

Police were called to the Mill Water Circle home on Tuesday, with a caller claiming, “I’m the shooter. I’m setting up booby traps and turning off the cellphone,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

Investigators believe David Vallerga shot his family before turning the gun on himself.

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Police did not find evidence that the home was booby-trapped.

David and Lindsey homeschooled their kids and ran a tutoring company, neighbors said.

The mom posted photos on Facebook gushing over her kids dating back to their toddler days – the last photo on her account posted on Jan. 23, four days before her husband shot her to death.

Neighbors said the kids were creative and raised chickens in their backyard.

“They painted, made jewelry, and invented their own games, including unique takes on tag and capture the flag,” the neighbor said. “They loved make-believe and were always actively engaged in play together.”

Another neighbor said that when she moved in a year ago, the family welcomed them with a basket of eggs from their chickens.

The community is said to be horrified by the tragedy and struggling to process the loss.

“We’re gonna support one another. This is a warm and living community,” one neighbor said. “We’re gonna miss them.”

One neighbor with a military background, who lives two houses from the murder home, spoke on background Tuesday. He said he often heard yelling coming from the house while walking his dog at night. He described the suspect as an introvert who might have been suffering from PTSD.

The neighbor said he once heard the man say to his wife, “I’m going to F you up.” He said he never wanted to get involved or call police “because the dude was kind of unhinged,” noting that the man had a loud, deep voice and was known to scream at his wife and kids.

One neighbor said she never had any indication the man was violent, or she wouldn’t have let her children play nearby. When asked about reports of shouting and swearing, one of the neighbors’ kids said, “They did cuss a lot.”