Tarzan Actor Ron Ely's Son Cameron Was Shot 24 Times by Police Unarmed After Claiming He Had a Weapon
New details have emerged regarding the gruesome California murder that occurred earlier this month involving Tarzan actor Ron Ely, his wife Valerie Ely and their son Cameron Ely.
In a press release obtained by PEOPLE on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office confirms that Cameron, 30, was shot 24 times by authorities after claiming that he had a gun and motioning at police.
Officials were initially called to the family’s Hope Ranch home on Oct. 15 by Cameron, after he had allegedly fatally stabbed his mother and attempted to place the blame on his father.
Responding officers found Valerie, 62, inside the home, “deceased with multiple stab wounds,” and then went looking for Cameron, after his father — who was home at the time of the incident — confirmed that he was the suspect.
“Deputies searched the residence and surrounding area for Cameron Ely. During the search, the murder suspect was located outside the home,” the spokesperson said. “The suspect told deputies that he had a gun, advanced towards the deputies, and motioned with his hands as if he were drawing a weapon.”
“In response, four deputies fired a total of 24 rounds from their service weapons, fatally wounding the suspect,” the spokesperson continued. “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.”
The spokesperson noted that none of the deputies who were involved with the confrontation were injured. Ron also did not suffer any injuries, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is currently conducting criminal, coroner’s and administrative investigations. An autopsy of both Valerie and Cameron is pending.
Cameron was a former quarterback on the Harvard University football team who graduated with a degree in psychology.
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He is listed on the 2007 football team’s roster as a freshman quarterback from Phillips Exeter Academy, but he is not listed on the rosters of football teams in subsequent years.
A 2007 Harvard Crimson article on that year’s football recruiting class says Cameron “sports the conventional Harvard-recruited stats: a GPA above 4.0, questionable arm strength and supreme intelligence to go along with his ability to make ‘good decisions,’ according to prominent recruiting Web site Scout.com.”
A Harvard spokesperson previously confirmed to PEOPLE that Cameron graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology on May 24, 2012.
The Los Angeles Times reports Cameron was a licensed security guard for the past two years.
Besides their son Cameron, Ron and Valerie, who wed in 1984, shared two daughters, Kirsten and Kaitland, 32.
The sisters, who are both social media influencers, have yet to speak out about the tragedy, but previously described their adoration for their parents on Instagram and in blog posts.
Prior to marrying Ron, Valerie competed in the Miss Florida competition in 1981 while representing Miami. She went on to compete in the Miss USA beauty pageant later that year, but did not win.
She was also a former flight attendant and even won Miss Airlines International, a beauty pageant for flight attendants and other airline employees, in 1980, according to The Miami News.
Ron was a veteran actor who played the role of Tarzan from 1966 to 1968.
He also starred in the iconic seventies show Fantasy Island and the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Iron and Bronze. Additionally, he hosted the Miss America pageant in the 1980s.
After getting married to Valerie, Ron took a break from acting to focus on raising their children. More recently, he had a role in the 2014 television movie Expecting Amish.
from PEOPLE.com https://people.com/crime/ron-ely-son-cameron-shot-24-times-by-police-unarmed-claiming-he-had-weapon/
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