New details have emerged regarding the gruesome murder of Valerie Ely, wife to Tarzan actor Ron Ely, who was stabbed to death in her California home by her son, Cameron.
Authorities revealed Tuesday that Cameron Ely, 30, was unarmed when he was shot 24 times by four responding officers from the Santa Barbra County Sheriff’s Office, after stabbing his mother to death.
The department said the 30-year-old told deputies he was armed and made motions as if he was drawing a weapon when he was shot outside his family’s home near Santa Barbara on October 15.
‘In response, four deputies fired a total of 24 rounds from their service weapons, fatally wounding the suspect,’ a spokesperson from the department said.
When deputies were able to safely approach Cameron using a ballistic shield, they found that he had feigned being armed and did not have a weapon.
Authorities revealed Tuesday that Cameron Ely, 30, was unarmed when he was shot 24 times by four responding officers from the Santa Barbra County Sheriff’s Office, after stabbing his mother, Valerie, to death
The department said the 30-year-old (shown in 2008) told deputies he was armed and made motions as if he was drawing a weapon when he was shot outside his family’s home near Santa Barbara on October 15
Ron (left), 81, who played the title character on the NBC series Tarzan in the 1960s, also did not suffer any injuries, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
The spokesperson added that none of the deputies who were involved with the confrontation were injured. Ron, 81, who played the title character on the NBC series Tarzan in the 1960s, also did not suffer any injuries, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Meanwhile Valerie, 62, was found inside the home ‘deceased with multiple stab wounds.
Investigators are currently conducting criminal, coroner’s and administrative investigations – with an autopsy of both Valerie and Cameron still pending.
Cameron was a Harvard educated quarterback who enjoyed a charmed existence rubbing shoulders with his famous godfather Fess Parker and living at his parents’ exclusive $4.8 million property before killing his mother.
Described as ‘supremely intelligent’ by the university’s student newspaper, 6 foot 5 tall Cameron often posted pictures of his time studying at Harvard to his MySpace account in the early 2000s.
Scout.com said the budding footballer had an ‘ability to make good decisions’.
Cameron signed as the Ivy League’s quarterback in 2007 according to his Harvard profile, after graduating from his $50,000-a-year boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy, and images show him enjoying costume parties with friends and time with his family.
He graduated with a degree in psychology in 2012, according to People, and was not listed on the football team roster after 2007.
The LA Times reports he was a licensed security guard for past two years.
In one of the pictures Cameron posted online, he is seen as a young teenager posing with his godfather, Fess Parker. The western actor, who died in 2010, played Davy Crockett in a Walt Disney series.
He proudly captioned the snap: ‘My godfather Fess Parker.’
Cameron Ely attended Harvard University where joined in 2007 and played football as quarterback. His occupation as an adult is not clear. Pictured left in a Myspace post with his godfather Western actor Fess Parker
Actor Ron Ely and wife Valerie Lundeen pictured above at the Third Annual Cathy’s Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic on June 25, 1977
In 2012 he joined his dad at an interview. After wandering away Ron commented: ‘Must have been [drawn away by] a pretty girl, because that’s the only thing that could draw him away.’
Little over a decade later he would be dead, after killing his mother and trying to blame the attack on his 81-year-old disabled father.
In audio obtained by The Blast, the original caller to the emergency services was a young male who said his ‘father tried to attack the mother’.
The operator adds that when the authorities called back the caller sounded ‘out of breath, unintelligible and crying’.
Valerie and Ron had been married for 35 years and had three children together, Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron.
The home in Hope Ranch, which boasts a tennis court and swimming pool, was one of two addresses listed in public records for Cameron Ely. It is understood the family recently put the five bedroom, six bathroom home up for sale for $4.8 million, according to Zillow.
The home in Hope Ranch, which boasts a tennis court and swimming pool, was one of two addresses listed in public records for Cameron Ely. It is understood the family recently put the five bedroom, six bathroom home up for sale for $4.8 million, according to Zillow
The couple’s home in Hope Ranch. The suspect was found hiding during a search of the house
Cameron, pictured, reportedly called police after allegedly killing his mother, a former Miss Florida, but blamed the attack on his 81-year-old disabled father
The home has been up for sale for around a month and the asking price was slashed by 200k.
Police first responded to the Santa Barbara home for a domestic disturbance call around 8.15pm on October 15 and found an elderly woman dead inside suffering stab wounds.
Sheriff’s deputies searched the ranch grounds where they found Cameron. They said the male suspect ‘presented a threat’ and was armed. Video from the scene captured the moment four officers fired shots.
Cameron was shot dead at 9.40pm.
Lt. Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said: ‘We wanted to make sure all the residents were safe while we searched the area.
‘We had initially called in the air support unit and neighboring law enforcement agencies to come help in the search and when we were able to locate the suspect on the property of the homicide, and after the confrontation, we lifted the shelter in place. We don’t believe there is any further threat to the public.’
Raney added: ‘We don’t know exactly how many shots were fired. We did have several deputies that were involved in the shooting. Fortunately all of our deputies are OK.’
Ely, who is now 81, featured in a number of TV appearances during the 1960s but found his break playing the lead role in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan, pictured
Actor Ron Ely and family attend Second Annual Toys for Tots Benefit on December 19, 1992 at Hancock Park in Los Angeles, California
Ely featured in a number of TV appearances during the 1960s but found his break playing the lead role in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan.
He also played the title role in 1975 movie Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.
As well as a career studded with occasional parts on TV, Ely hosted the Miss America pageant between 1979 and 1981. He retired from acting in 2001 but did return for a part in a TV movie called Expecting Amish in 2014.
The famed actor said he finished with his on-screen career to spend time with his kids.
Musclebound Tarzan who did his own stunts and won the hearts of baby-boomers
Ron Ely, 81, played the title character on the NBC series Tarzan, which ran from 1966 to 1968.
The tall, musclebound actor was not quite as well-known as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic swimmer who played Tarzan, the character created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs, in movies in the 1930s and 1940s.
But Ely formed the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character remembered by many in the baby-boom generation.
Ely said in interviews that he did his own stunts on the show, working directly and precariously with the tigers, chimps and other wild animals that were Tarzan’s friends and servants.Ely retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001.
Ely retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001. He is pictured here in December 1987
Ely’s Tarzan didn’t speak in the monosyllabic grunts often associated with the character. He was instead an educated bachelor who had grown sick of civilization and had returned to African jungle where he was raised.
Ely also played the title character in the 1975 action film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, but otherwise had mostly small roles in TV and films including the 1958 movie musical South Pacific.
He was host of the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981 and later married Valerie Ely, a former Miss Florida. The couple had three children.
Ely retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001. But he returned briefly in 2014 in the TV movie Expecting Amish.