While Culver City police remained largely silent this afternoon regarding their pursuit of the killer of construction consultant Paul D. Bilodeau last Friday night in Fox Hills, an idyllic family picture of the victim emerged.
He was shot four times in his half of the trailer double-office that is common to construction sites. His body was discovered Saturday morning by a construction company employee, his arm in the doorway of his office.
Police are not commenting on possible motives for the mysterious homicide that now appears to have occurred around 9 o’clock.
In the first family interview, granted to the Daily News, the single, formerly married 45-year-old Mr. Bilodeau was portrayed as an unswervingly devoted son and nephew.
They said he spent his non-working hours either in Camarillo with his aging parents or in the Valley with his 80-year-old uncle, Larry Litalien.
Making His Commute Easier
A year ago, Mr. Bilodeau, who also is survived by two step-sons, took lodging on his Uncle Larry’s property to facilitate his latest assignment.
Employed by an Oxnard-based consulting company, he was hired almost two years ago by City Hall to represent its interests at the construction site in Fox Hills where the new $5 million Fire Station No. 3 is being built.
Ironically, he was with family just before the bloody ending to his life.
Sometime after 7:04 p.m., last Friday, the hour of his last in a series of emails to the builder’s headquarters, Mr. Bilodeau enjoyed dinner with his Uncle Larry at his favorite deli.
“Everybody loved him,” said Uncle Larry. “He loved his family. He was a very good boy.”
After dinner, he planned to visit his parents, Conrad and Margaret Bilodeau, at their home in Camarillo, a hefty drive for late on a Friday night.
He never made it.
Possibly influenced by the fact he is a single man not running on a family time clock, he decided to return to the construction site after dinner.
Invitation to Strangers
The partially completed Fire Station, due to open this spring, is in the 6000 block of Bristol Parkway.
The eastern side of Bristol in that neighborhood never would be mistaken for a fun landing zone.
It is a dimly lighted industrial area that would not draw anyone on a Friday night, except for a deeply committed employee.
The region is so open that after dark, one or more strangers could roam the property and adjacent grounds without attracting attention.
Who was the killer? Why was he there?
Construction trailers, say sources, are not magnets for self-respecting robbers, so little of value is available.
Meanwhile, police Sgt. Mike Shank corrected an earlier report about the labor schedule. He said work on the building was not delayed, that workers were allowed to resume their duties on Saturday.
