William and Tiffany O’Shell Died In Vain
November 2, 2008 by Jaded
William, Tiffany, and Alyssa O’Shell
Commerce City, CO–Back in July, I posted a story in the forums about the murder-suicide of William O’Shell and his wife, Tiffany Cuin-O’Shell. William was suspected of abusing his 3-month-old daughter, Alyssa. The baby was taken from the home on June 17th after a doctor’s visit revealed serious injuries, 11 broken bones and a skull fracture. She was placed in foster care while the abuse investigation continued. Just 13 days later, William shot and killed his wife Tiffany as she slept, then put two guns in his mouth and pulled both triggers.
The initial investigation into the abuse focused on 4 people…William, Tiffany and 2 relatives that had a hand in caring for the baby. Eventually, authorities whittled the list down to one suspect, William O’Shell. They were close to making an arrest just before William committed suicide. Williams, a police officer himself, was being pressured to confess. He was already presumed guilty and he believed he was going to be arrested for something he didn’t do. I think we all have a pretty good idea about what can happen to a cop when he’s on the other side of the bars. On top of all that, his wife was being advised to divorce him so she could regain custody of their child. Things were looking pretty bleak for William and he escaped the only way he felt he could, taking his wife with him. Turns out he was innocent all along.
New evidence has surfaced that Alyssa wasn’t abused at all. At a court hearing two days after the deaths of William and Tiffany, Alyssa’s foster mother said she noticed something was wrong with the baby. Genetic tests were ordered. The results from those tests came back the day after Tiffany was buried: Alyssa had Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic disease that prevents the muscles from developing, making her vulnerable to broken bones. Normal, every day handling of the child could have caused the fractures. It wasn’t her daddy’s fault. Chances are, William and Tiffany had no idea that Alyssa even had the disease.
After the murder-suicide, Tiffany’s parents, Jackie and Paul Cuin, fought for and won custody of little Alyssa. Soon after they brought her home, her condition began deteriorating. She couldn’t eat or swallow or even lift her head. Mucus had to be suctioned from her airway numerous times each day. She needed oxygen. Alyssa O’Shell died on Tuesday. The official cause of death has not yet been released.
Paul Cuin is now trying to raise awareness about SMA. He also wants to clear the names of William and Tiffany. He knows some people still think William did what he did out of guilt, but he believes it’s more likely that he did it for lack of hope. The Cuin’s stood behind William and Tiffany through the whole ordeal, asking authorities to look deeper. “The minute they hit on abuse, they wouldn’t look any further,” Paul said. “We kept telling them there’s more.”
Alyssa’s grandparents have lost so much. A daughter, a son-in-law they believed in, and a beautiful granddaughter. They picture Alyssa with her mommy and daddy now, happy and healthy. The little family together again.
What is Spinal Muscular Atrophy? According to the SMA Foundation:
“SMA is a deadly and relatively common genetic disease and is the leading genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers. It is the absence/defect in the Survival Motor Neuron Gene (SMN1) that causes Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The SMN1 gene codes for survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein, and this protein is critical to the survival and health of motor neurons, nerve cells in our spinal cord that our brain uses to control our muscles. Without sufficient SMN protein, motor neurons shrink and die. As the motor neuron network breaks down, the ability of the brain to control muscles diminishes and with less control and use, muscles weaken and waste away.”
The disease occurs in 1 out of 6,000 births and the average life expectancy for babies diagnosed with the disease is 2 years.
Alyssa O’Shell, 6 months, at Children’s Hospital in Aurora. RIP baby girl.
4:41 pm on November 2nd, 2008
wow hope they can all rest in peace as a family now,what a sad story
4:58 pm on November 2nd, 2008
Heart-breaking. Just heart-breaking.
5:14 pm on November 2nd, 2008
I hope they all rest in peace. This story is so sad.
7:35 pm on November 2nd, 2008
So very heartbreaking.
7:49 pm on November 2nd, 2008
It always gets me, that the court thinks they know best… If William was a cop.. they why did they think he would do that to his own? Was there something about his work history that would make people believe this… This just does not add up. It looks to me that he pissed someone off and they were out to make his life hell… I hope they are happy, because not only did they affect his, but everyone he loved.
8:01 pm on November 2nd, 2008
So heart breaking.
But I still don’t understand why he killed himself and his wife. Men. I would have been fighting and getting the testing done to find out what was wrong with her.
I know I know, ya’ll are going to say that they didn’t know this disease existed. I did, but I don’t much about it. BUT, I still wouldn’t have given up trying to prove my innocence and fighting for my child.
It’s just so sad……….
8:53 pm on November 2nd, 2008
I’ve also heard of the disease but knew nothing about it.
If only he could’ve waited a little bit longer. Maybe he feared the thought of going to prison, or maybe his fellow officers weren’t offering the support they could’ve. Bet they feel like shit now. They should. Things aren’t ALWAYS the way the appear.
I also wonder why this wasn’t caught earlier in this beautiful baby girl’s life? Regarding the broken bones, I would have insisted on a multitude of testing since the parents knew they were not the cause.
9:00 pm on November 2nd, 2008
Usually, that is the case, and then the cop is guilty. LE treated this pretty fairly given the circumstances. The parents should’ve fought a little harder, he wasn’t even the only suspect! It’s a sad situation all together, really.
10:08 pm on November 2nd, 2008
Once the state takes your kids, I don’t guess you get to insist on anything. I imagine you have to wait for the investigation to unwind in it’s own time.
10:15 pm on November 2nd, 2008
im a nurse (geriatrics but did placement in peds) and i have heard of this but on a tv show i had watched
and that is me to a tee,,i will go to my grave to prove my innocence,,and alot of people are the same but others just cant get past what they are being accused of,and this must have turned what was supposed to be the best time of their lives into a nightmare trying to figure out what happened and who knows maybe they began doubting each other and argueing and he snapped afraid she would divorce him and take the baby away where he couldnt see her,we dont know what was happening behind closed doors
10:36 pm on November 2nd, 2008
The family left behind must feel like they are drowning in grief…an anguish unbearable. They look so happy in that photo, and oh my, what a beautiful baby girl.
I agree that the father knowing his innocence should have fought and never give up. After all the fight was not just for him but for his baby girl…his family.
I pray that the O’Shell family has finally found the peace they never did in life. Rest…dear little Alyssa, now in the arms of your mother.
10:40 pm on November 2nd, 2008
Wow, Jaded. What a totally sucky ending to an already horrible story. I’m sure the grandparents must be pleased that the kids have been vindicated, but still…they’ll live with the pain of ‘too little, too late’ for the rest of their lives.
May they all rest in peace.
10:54 pm on November 2nd, 2008
Thank you so much for FPing this one, Jaded. I can only repeat what other commenters have said…so sad.
11:51 pm on November 2nd, 2008
This one breaks my heart….. so very sad. R.I.P, at least they will all be together…but certainly doesn’t help the thought that these parents should have been the ones to hold their baby during her last days of life.
Truly sad….
1:10 am on November 3rd, 2008
God, such a sad story. William must have felt so helpless, so backed into a corner to have done this not only to himself, but to his wife as well.
And only to have the real culprit, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, be diagnosed days later.
RIP O’Shell family. I agree Dneilz, Tiffany and William should have been holding Alyssa as she passed away. How his parents must be suffering–I can’t even imagine.
5:35 am on November 3rd, 2008
I don’t know.. I don’t feel bad for William. HELLO. Did he HAVE TO KILL HIS WIFE? What the hell is that about?? How is that fair to her? He had to have known that he wasn’t abusing the baby.. and his wife wasn’t…. so he kills her? That’s bullshit.
He might have been innocent of abusing his baby, but he is guilty of KILLING HIS POOR WIFE.
How on earth did he make that decision? Why not just kill himself, if he couldn’t deal with all of the accusations? He couldn’t stand being thought of as a possible child abuser… yet is fine with being a murderer?
If I was Tiffany, I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my little baby.. in this life or the afterlife.
10:04 am on November 3rd, 2008
very sad story ,yes. but damn you know when they need to be hard on the parents who REALLY are abusing the children nothings done. the kids are left in their care and then end up murdered ya know?? its just sad the way this story ended.
11:18 am on November 3rd, 2008
Agreed this is heartbreaking, but let’s not make William a hero. In murdering his wife, he not only made himself her judge and jury, but robbed his daughter of her mother’s comfort in the last months of her short life. I feel compassion for what William went through being unjustly accused, but my compassion stops at the moment he decided to murder his wife.
Also, let’s not vilify the medical personnel and child protective services who acted in the child’s interest with the information they had at the time. How many times have we been shocked and amazed at cases where children were returned to homes to be horribly abused or murdered?
11:24 am on November 3rd, 2008
I still think what he did was awful. He had no right to take her life away. What was happening to him was horrible and unfair. But it doesn’t make it okay that he killed his wife.
I read a story in People a few years ago about a military Mom who DSS had taken her daughter away for the exact same thing. She explained this ran in her family & begged the court to check for it. They denied the request several times until her health failed in the custody of DSS did they finally run the test which she was positive for.
Tragic all around.
12:04 pm on November 3rd, 2008
Hindsight is always best. I understand in this case they made a mistake, in most cases we wish someone had noticed & acted earlier. I would think they proceeded according to the evidence they had.
12:27 pm on November 3rd, 2008
I am confused too and even if she wanted to be killed (maybe too scared to commit suicide) who is he to take her life anyway. This is really fucked up and very horrifying for the family.
12:30 pm on November 3rd, 2008
If the man knew that he was innocent, he may have believed that his wife could be the only culprit, and didn’t want to take the fall for what he percieved was her abuse of the child. Knowing what happens to cops in jail, he may not have been up to facing that little space of Hell-on-Earth. Having said that, I do not condone his murder of his wife, nor, do I want him to be made out as a “total” victim. He WAS a murderer.
12:37 pm on November 3rd, 2008
Breaks my heart. There was nothing done “right” here.
William, being a cop, would know first hand how the system works (or doesn’t work) and likely figured there was no other way out. Killing his wife was wrong. Perhaps it became one of those all too familiar scenarios “If I can’t have you, no one will” since she was being pressured into divorce. I’m sure he felt betrayed by so many. No excuse, though.
No one wins here.
I just can’t imagine the confusion, anguish and fear these parents felt upon hearing their infant daughter was so broken – and they were the suspects.
R.I.P. little one. Condolences to the families. Tragic.
2:04 pm on November 3rd, 2008
Hhmmm……wonder if a wrongful death lawsuit will come out of this?
Here is a link to Tiffany’s myspace. It’s private so you can’t view it, but I still thought I’d share. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=57968096
The default picture is of her and William on their wedding day. Of course, they look happy, but now knowing the circumstances of this case it makes one realize how tragic and unnecessary this murder-suicide was.
It’s always eery when you see the last login date for someone you know is deceased. Tiffany logged in two days before she was killed.
Pretty shitty.
2:08 pm on November 3rd, 2008
The system-It either does nothing at all or does more than it needs to…Bless her heart, if she had only had an amneo done, she may have found out sooner. She couldn’t have known…
Alyssa was an adorable little baby-hope they are all together in a better place…
4:35 pm on November 3rd, 2008
What a beautiful baby. *sigh*
4:37 pm on November 3rd, 2008
Wow, this is so heartbreaking. My thoughts & prayers are with the family. May all 3 rest in peace!
11:15 pm on November 3rd, 2008
MISHDABRAT, I couldn’t agree with you more. Well put.
8:44 am on November 4th, 2008
one has to wonder if he thought she did it or if they made a pact to die together. I can’t condone what William did but I can’t hang him by the gallows either. In the end, this is just a sad case and another one of my gripes with CPS. They either go after someone with full fury even if there’s doubt or they do nothing at all in cases that scream for it.
3:33 pm on November 4th, 2008
This is a horrible tragedy with far too many victims. A very, very sad situation.
9:58 pm on November 4th, 2008
Thanks for the thumbs up Red.
6:16 am on November 5th, 2008
I aggree 100%, it looks like every one did there job right. Doc saw 11 fractures , some healing other fresh, he calls CPS , they investigate and find probable cause . They call the police and inform them of the crime and the ball got rollin.
“Studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to 10% of families in the general population. ” Not unreasonable to think abuse might have happened. I am not saying it did, only that it was probable cause to investigate it.
Also Tiffany Cuin-O’Shell was a Lakewood officer as well from April 2006 to September 2007, she was currently on maternity leave from the Lakewood police department after giving birth to the baby. William had been there since 2005 so its probly were they met.
The police report said Tiffany was shot with two Glock pistols in the head as she lay sleeping in bed. Them William swallowed both of them and shot himself with both guns. They were either both his service guns or my guess is it was both his and her service Glock revolvers. Somehow that makes sence to me , consitering he murdered his wife. Chances are he did it because she was going to leave him to get the baby back. And thats what pushed him over the edge to murder her and take his own life. If that is true it makes him a dirtbag , I would have had lots of sympathy for him eating his gun over the false acusation, but not for a cold blooded murderer.
On a side note , I was wondering why his town Lakewood seemed familiar. Its the same place my Pus Bucket, Pedophile uncle, a Level 3 sex Offender lives. So they both probly new him or about him. Too bad William didnt do the world a favour and shoot him as well.
6:23 am on November 5th, 2008
rotflmao…
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