Robert Laird Made His Daughter Wait for the Mother Who Would Never Arrive
October 16, 2009 by thinkgoat
Lakeland, Florida A little after 3 pm on Monday, firefighters responded to a car fire on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida. They had no way of knowing that they were about to drive up on an arson, a homicide, and a suicide. Court records show that Robert Laird and his wife, Sheryl, were divorced and she was granted an injunction keeping him from having contact with her. All who had contact with Sheryl describe her as being a positive woman despite the past marital problems and despite having to share her daughter with the man she feared. None of that matters now. Robert drove to the top of that bridge, doused the car with gasoline and turned it into a torch with his dead wife in the trunk, and lept from the bridge as the firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. And at 6 pm, their 7-year-old daughter was still sitting patiently waiting to be picked up from Happy Days School.
Laird vehicle ablaze on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Being late to pick her daughter up was not a typical behavior of Sheryl, especially without a phone call. As the 7-year-old sat alone with one employee who stayed behind, it was assumed Sheryl got into an accident on her way home from her commute to Tampa. What wasn’t known – Sheryl didn’t make it to work that day and instead had an altercation with the man who was to stay away from her – the father of her child. And as emergency workers cleaned up the scene on top of that bridge, the little girl waited.
It is believed that Robert showed up at his ex-wife’s home and killed her during an argument. It’s also believed that he put her body in the trunk of the vehicle and made the journey to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Although Sheryl stated her ex had never struck her, his drinking, coupled with his temper and possessiveness, led to their divorce.
Despite what Sheryl stated prior to their divorce in 2005, Robert was arrested in 2006 for domestic violence and violating the injunction. It’s truly a shame this woman had to continue to live in fear as she strove to make a happier life for she and her daughter. It’s an absolute heart-wrenching caveat to this story that an innocent child of 7 sat waiting for the mother who would never be there to pick her up from school.
Sheryl Laird
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4:21 am on October 16th, 2009
Ouch. =(
7:53 am on October 16th, 2009
What a piece of shit. That little girls’ entire world was just destroyed.
10:22 am on October 16th, 2009
Seldom do stories affect me like this one did. The murder/suicide – yes that’s horrible…but that little girl…unfortunately I can see and hear that play out.
10:37 am on October 16th, 2009
Skyway bridge is so high that when you hit from jumping off the top it’s the same as if you were jumping off a 19 story building into pavement. For someone like me who is afraid of heights, just driving up and over takes some serious will power. It is also an hour drive from Lakeland to the Skyway. He had an hour in the car thinking before he got there. Selfish fucker couldn’t think of anyone but himself.
10:47 am on October 16th, 2009
Why don’t people understand that after you have children, your life is now theirs. Everything you do is for them, not for you. If people would understand and embrace that there would be much fewer of these tragedies.
11:20 am on October 16th, 2009
Well-written, TG. Absolutely heartbreaking.
1:01 pm on October 16th, 2009
What a horrible fate for Sheryl. May she rest in peace.
If there’s any bright spot to this story it’s that the ex didn’t harm the child or make her witness his cowardly deeds. Hope she has a strong and loving extended family.
7:51 pm on October 16th, 2009
Ahhh, thinkgoat, you made me cry! The child waiting at Happy Days School, for her Mommy, for hours, and then, Damn!
Rest in Peace, Sheryl Laird!
Burning in Hell, Robert Laird!
8:53 pm on October 16th, 2009
Well said
1:13 pm on October 20th, 2009
**sniffle**
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