Residents in San Marino were stunned when a well-respected doctor and mother of twins was found dead in the scorched den of her sprawling estate,

Irene Gaw-Lai and her husband, Yoon “Kevin” Lai, had raised their sons in the affluent, quiet community, driving them to private school and baseball tournaments.

But when a fire burned in the rear of the family’s home, family and neighbors wondered: How could a healthy 56-year-old be killed in a fire that never spread beyond a single room?

But her 16-year-old sons feared they knew the answer.

Reeling from the news of their mother’s death, the boys spent that night with their aunt, saying they didn’t want to be around their father, according to family court documents.

“They were afraid,” said Randolph Gaw, the dead woman’s cousin and the atto

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