Crime & Safety

Man Held in Killing of Special Ed Teacher to Be Arraigned

Authorities say Robert Allan Lehmann was lying in wait and killed his ex-wife and her father.

The man authorities say killed his ex-wife, who worked for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and her father this week after losing custody of his 7-year-old daughter was expected to be arraigned today, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Robert Allan Lehmann, 36, has been charged with two felony counts of special-circumstances murder with sentencing enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon, multiple murders and lying in wait, the D.A.'s office said.

Authorities say Lehmann was waiting in his Costa Mesa home with a firearm Tuesday when his ex-wife, Emily Ford, 32, and her father, 62-year-old Russell Ford, arrived to pick up the estranged couple's daughter. Upon opening the door, Lehmann began shooting, the D.A.'s office said. Emily and Russell Ford tried to run away, authorities said, but Lehman pursued them. Both were shot in the back several times and fell to the ground. Lehmann then reloaded his firearm and shot both of the victims in their backs and heads repeatedly, the D.A.'s office said. Costa Mesa police arrested Lehmann at the scene.

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Before the shooting, authorities said, Lehman had sent his 7-year-old daughter and current wife to get ice cream. Emily Ford had left her new baby, which is not Lehman's, in her car.

Emily Ford worked as a special-education instructional aide in the preschool program at Paularino Elementary, Newport-Mesa Unified said. Employed with the district since 2007, Ford had also worked as a special-education instructional aide at Anderson and Mariners elementary schools in Newport Beach,  according to a statement from Newport-Mesa Unified.

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If convicted, Lehmann faces a maximum sentence of two terms of life in state prison without the possibility of parole, the D.A.'s office said.


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