Filmmaker killed: Documentary filmmaker that rescued orphans is killed. A documentary filmmaker known for helping rescue children from horrible Romanian orphanages in the early nineties was fatally shot dead according to The Associated Press. The event happened on Thursday, March 28, 2013, following an apparent dispute over the trimming of shrubbery outside of John Charles Upton Jr.'s Southern California home.
Upton Jr. was 56-years-old.
He was found dead on Thursday on a dirt path in the yard of his Encinitas home. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said that detectives arrested 61-year-old Michael Vilkin on suspicion of murder. He is being held without bail pending an arraignment on Tuesday.
Upton is very well known for publicizing the brutal conditions of the homes that Romanian orphans stayed in. He was instrumental in bringing close to two dozen orphans to America for medical care and adoption.
In an interview conducted in country jail, Vilkin said he fired gunshots in self-defense after Upton menaced him with a gun during the dispute over foliage. Vilkin said he owns the vacant property next to Upton's home, and the two men had a disagreement over trimming shrubs.
"I did not go to him," Vilkin told the KGTV. "He came to me threatening and pulled a gun (on) me."
A statement from the department said that an investigation is ongoing and that a dispute between the two men led to the shooting.
Upton Jr. was 56-years-old.
He was found dead on Thursday on a dirt path in the yard of his Encinitas home. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said that detectives arrested 61-year-old Michael Vilkin on suspicion of murder. He is being held without bail pending an arraignment on Tuesday.
Upton is very well known for publicizing the brutal conditions of the homes that Romanian orphans stayed in. He was instrumental in bringing close to two dozen orphans to America for medical care and adoption.
In an interview conducted in country jail, Vilkin said he fired gunshots in self-defense after Upton menaced him with a gun during the dispute over foliage. Vilkin said he owns the vacant property next to Upton's home, and the two men had a disagreement over trimming shrubs.
"I did not go to him," Vilkin told the KGTV. "He came to me threatening and pulled a gun (on) me."
A statement from the department said that an investigation is ongoing and that a dispute between the two men led to the shooting.