FLEMING ISLAND, Florida - When Dana Whitelaw, 47, got out of the shower Tuesday morning, she found her entire family dead. Her husband, Jerry Whitelaw, 49, had shot their two children — 16-year-old son, Kevin, and 11-year-old daughter, Katy — while they slept. He then turned the gun on himself. Court records show that Dana had filed for divorce in late August after 16 years of marriage, but continued to live together during the process. Police have no records of ever having to go to their residence in the past. Kevin was a junior at St. Johns Country Day in Orange Par, Katie attended Grace Episcopal. I think what makes this particular murder-suicide is the blatant purpose behind it. Jerry wanted Dana to live after this, knowing it was the best possible way to hurt her. Kill her kids, then let her live with that fact. Absolutely horrifying in its cold-blooded callousness. I can not possibly imagine anything my wife could do to me that could have me killing my own kids to get back at her. That is signs of one very, very selfish man – or one that is extremely mentally disturbed.

Source | Source

Related articles by Zemanta

• Robert Laird Made His Daughter Wait for the Mother Who Would Never Arrive (dreamindemon.com)
• Michael O’Riley’s Sex Slave Wife (dreamindemon.com)
• Dalia Dippolito Gets It Done (dreamindemon.com)
• Shannon Dedrick Vanished From Parents’ Bedroom (dreamindemon.com)

Las Vegas, Nevada – Tom and Carla Chester were found dead in their Heritage Village mobile home on Wednesday by their 22-year-old daughter. 57-year-old Tom had been shot in the head, 51-year-old Carla had been shot and stabbed in the neck. Their Dodge Journey was missing and before long, their 18-year-old son, Timothy Chester, was named a suspect. At around 6 p.m., the mother of 18-year-old Victor Veliz called 911 informing them that her son had just admitted to killing the couple at the request of Timothy, his best friend. Timothy was apprehended on Thursday morning near the Hoover dam and now that both are in custody, the details on what happened that Wednesday afternoon, and how much worse it could have been, are chilling.

Tom Chester

Timothy and Victor became friends some time after Victor moved to Vegas from California six years ago. Victor had few friends because he felt that he scared most people. But not Timothy Chester. He and Timothy formed a friendship that included spending a lot of time playing online games – and according to Victor, listening to Timothy talk about how much he hated his parents and wanted to kill them. According to Timothy, a pact was made in which Victor would kill Timothy’s parents and then Timothy would return the favor and kill Victor’s. This all came together following an argument Timothy had with his family earlier this week regarding responsibility. The plan was for Timothy’s entire family to be killed, including his sister and brother-in-law. Of course nothing ever goes exactly as planned, but from what I can gather from the source links, this is what happened on Wednesday.

About 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Thomas Chester took his son to a nearby high school to get his transcripts and then dropped him off at Victor’s house. At noon, Timothy and Victor walked back to Timothy’s parent’s mobile home. During this walk, Timothy handed Victor a gun that was taken from his father’s safe. When they got there, Timothy’s mother was asleep on the couch in the living room and his father was in the kitchen. Timothy and Victor went into Timothy’s bedroom after briefly speaking with Timothy’s father.

Carla Chester

Victor states that once in the bedroom he tried giving the gun back to Timothy and told him to put it back in the safe. Timothy then handed the gun back to Victor and told him if he didn’t do it, he would shoot him instead. The two left the bedroom and Victor shot Tom as he stood next to the front door. After being shot, Tom then tried to run into the master bedroom, but his own son got to the room ahead of him and prevented him from entering.

Timothy then retrieved a semi-automatic pistol from a bedroom closet and loaded it. When he left the bedroom, he saw his father lying on the floor behind the couch. Carla, who was physically disabled, stood up and began screaming. Timothy, being the greasy fucking pussy he is, ran out of the trailer taking the keys to his parent’s SUV leaving Victor behind in the trailer.

Victor allegedly shot Carla at some point during this time and then used a kitchen knife to stab her in the throat. He stated that he heard a horn blowing outside, and after washing up in the kitchen sink he walked outside and Timothy, along with the SUV, were gone – I guess ending the plan they had to flee to California and then Guatemala. Victor walked home and informed his mother of what he had done and asked her to call police for him. he denied that there was any pact as Timothy stated during his talk with police, but did add that the rest of Timothy’s family should be worried as Timothy wanted them dead as well. He added that Timothy was smarter than he looked.

Neighbors said that the couple were well liked and “pillars of the community” and that “they were the first to help, to organize events…always there at the ready.” “She was a character,” neighbor Garrianne Sage said of Carla Chester. “She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve it at all.” They also commented that Timothy was a quiet guy who kept his head down when he walked the neighborhood, but that he did help out other neighbors and was great with his nephews. Victor’s mother has declined to talk to any news agencies at this point.

Both teens were booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts each of murder with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit murder. They also face one count each of burglary for their involvement in the double slaying. Timothy Chester was charged with an additional count of robbery with a deadly weapon. Here is some video of Victor Veliz talking to a reporter from behind bars.

Timothy Chester and Victor Veliz

Source | Source | Source | Source

Related articles by Zemanta

• D’Amber Myles Couldn’t Keep Her Head Above Water (dreamindemon.com)
• Abel and Denise Wolf Buried Daughter Once – Moved Her A Few Times (dreamindemon.com)
• Update: Misty Cummings’ Story Continues To Unravel (dreamindemon.com)
• Mark Helwig’s 2 Year Frozen Secret (dreamindemon.com)

MOUNT AIRY, Maryland – A family of four were found dead in their home on Friday. Charles L. Dalton Sr., 38, killed himself, his family and the family dog. Dalton’s wife, Jennifer A. Dalton, 37, was found dead in her bed. Their son, Charles L. Dalton Jr., 14, and their daughter, Emmaline E. Dalton, 7 were also found dead in their beds. The family pet, a beagle named Max, was found dead in an animal crate. All had been shot to death with the same shotgun Charles Dalton used to kill himself with. They were described as nice and religious, Dalton a self-employed carpenter and maintenance worker for Montgomery County schools. Financial difficulties seem to be part of the reason behind Charles’s actions – it’s being reported that the family was having problems selling their house.

State police have closed the investigation while friends and neighbors are in shock. The bodies were discovered after co-workers failed to reach Jennifer when she did not show up for work at her part-time job at a veterinary hospital. A friend went to the house to check on the family on Friday and saw a body through a window.

Source | Source

Beason, Illinois – I wasn’t going to post this as everyone is already covering it and we already had an asshole who killed his family this week. But since they have not arrested anyone and are still asking for tips, what the hell. Raymond “Rick” Gee, 46, his wife, Ruth Gee, 39, and three of their children, Justina Constant, 16, Dillen Constant, 14, and Austin Gee, 11, were found dead Monday afternoon in their home. 3-year-old Tabitha Gee, remains in critical but stable condition at a Peoria hospital. Coroner reports state that they were all beaten to death. Police are interested in a primer/gray Chevrolet S-10 or Ford Ranger-type of pickup that was seen in the area. Some AP video and timeline after the jump.

Current time-line (thanks to Pantagraph.com)

Sunday night: Rick Gee and at least two of the children are reportedly seen for the last time.
Later Sunday night: Pickup truck (Ford Ranger or Chevy S10, gray/silver primer paint, vertical exhaust pipes) seen in or around Beason.
Monday: The children are absent from school.
Monday afternoon: Rick’s stepfather, William Koehler, goes by the house to pick up one of the children and finds the bodies.
Tuesday morning: Evidence rules out a murder-suicide. Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols urges residents to be on the lookout and lock their doors.
Tuesday afternoon: Prayer service held at Beason church as police confirm victims’ identities. Search of fields near home is conducted.
Wednesday: Search of fields expands as volunteers reportedly look for sharp-edged or cylindrical object.
Wednesday afternoon: Nichols says victims weren’t shot, despite initial call to 911 about a possible shooting. Police set up (217) 732-3000 as a tip line for leads. FBI joins the investigation.
Thursday: Most police presence leaves Beason. Victims’ home is boarded up. More than 100 tips reportedly come in to hot line.
Thursday afternoon: Authorities say victims died of blunt-force trauma. Task force is announced. Nichols says Tabitha is in critical but stable condition.

Source <– lots of information

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tiny Ill. Town On Edge After Family Murder (abcnews.go.com)

Naples, Florida – While performing a welfare check on Saturday, detectives found the murdered bodies of Guerline Damas, 32, and her children Michzach, 9, Marven, 6, Maven, 5, Megan, 3 and Morgan, who would have been a year old next week. The one person not located was Mesac Dumas, 33. He is now a person of interest in the murder of his wife and five children. Investigators located his car at the Miami International airprt and believe he is now in Haiti, where he has family. It is being reported that Mesac Damas was charged with domestic battery charges back in January. You can read the report here. (warning – it’s a PDF) The problem police face now is that the Haiti government will not extradite Damas unless it is proven, without a doubt, that Damas committed the crime. Something that has not been done yet. Pics and video after the jump.

Dunno who killed this family but unless Mesac has a very convincing story of some Haiti gang members who murdered his family and now he is on some Charles Bronson Death Wish type mission, things are looking pretty obvious, especially since police have been to their home on multiple occasions for domestic violence related calls. Hearing the deputy in the video state that this is the “most horrific, most violent event this community has ever experienced” has my brain reeling at what the hell the murder did to this family.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Ricky Lee Blackwell Is A Monster (dreamindemon.com)
• God Made Kristopher Griffin Slit His Daughter’s Throat (dreamindemon.com)
• Police seek man whose wife, 5 children killed (cnn.com)
• 5 Children, Woman Found Dead in Fla. Apartment (abcnews.go.com)

Glendale, Arizona–Michael Miller called 911 early Saturday morning with a chilling confession: “I just killed my family.” When officers arrived at the residence, Miller was waiting for them outside. He told them that several people inside the house were injured. Inside the home, police discovered Miller’s wife, Adreana, 28, and his 10-year-old daughter had both been stabbed to death. His 4-year-old son had also been stabbed, but was still alive.

Michael Miller

Though authorities don’t yet know the motive behind the murders, it is suspected that Miller ’snapped’ in the middle of an altercation with his wife and started gettin’ all stabby on everyone. The 4-year-old child spent most of Saturday in surgery and is in critical but stable condition. He is being cared for by other relatives who live in the area.

Michael Miller, 29, is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. This isn’t Miller’s first brush with the law…court records show he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in 2004 and disorderly conduct in 2008, but charges in both instances were later dismissed.

Source

Related articles by Zemanta

• Jamarr Brown Stabbed His Son’s Skull (dreamindemon.com)
• Richard McTear Jr. Tossed The Baby Out The Window (dreamindemon.com)
• Danielle Bush Was Having A Rough Day (dreamindemon.com)

Corona, CA – Once again, we have a story of a selfish asshole who wanted to off himself and take his family with him.  And of course, once again he succeeds at murdering his babies and only injuring himself.  They have no motive at this time, but it is said that Amado Esqueda and his wife had separated shortly before he completely lost his shit and went on a stabbing rampage killing his two young daughters, seriously injuring his wife and injuring himself.

Amado Esqueda

Around 6:30 AM on Saturday morning, Irene Gonzales called 911 to report that her husband was stabbing her and her children.  6 year old Cassandra and 2 month old Natalie both died of multiple stab wounds at the hospital.  Gonzales remains in serious condition, and Esqueda is in the hospital ward at the jail with stab wounds.  Esqueda also had 2 teenage children who were not home at the time.

Neighbors say this was a nice normal family that set off no red flags.  They never heard any arguments or witnessed any conflict.  Esqueda had no prior arrests, and court records only show a one traffic ticket  in 2007.  So what made this man snap?  I don’t know, but someone who could stab his own 2 month old and kindergartner to death over some marital problems doesn’t deserve to be breathing the same air as the rest of us.  He now faces the death penalty, but with the way the economy is, I’m thinking it wouldn’t be so bad if suicide watch was a little lax and the supply of strong bedsheets were abundant.  The taxpayers could use a break.

COLUMBIA, Illinois - Christopher Coleman is the man whose family was found dead in their home on May 5th. Coleman claimed to have been at a local gym when he called for a wellness check after not being able to contact his wife. Police found Sheri Coleman, 31 dead along with her two boys, Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9. They had all been strangled to death. Since then, it has come to light that Coleman had some trim on the side and now he has given his fingerprints to police.Anyone want to take a guess on when they charge this guy?

Police had already stated that they had no suspects, although they believe the family was targeted. Early on it was reported that the family had recieved death threats in the mail in relation to Coleman’s job as chief of security for Joyce Meyer Ministries, a worldwide television evangelist organization based in Jefferson County.  A police source has leaked that someone apparently wrote “I told you this would happen” on a wall inside the home. Anyone else thinking this sounds like an episode of Forensic Files?

The alleged girlfriend has been interviewed by detectives and is being reported as an acquaintance of Sheri Coleman who both graduated from the same high school. Public records say she worked in a bar and as a hostess for a gentlemen’s club in Tampa. She recently divorced from her husband in 2004, although bought a condo with him in 2006.

So let’s see what we got here. A family murdered. Shady threats to the family directed towards Coleman and his work for a televangelist. An ominous message left on the wall of the home, a stripper girlfriend no one knew about, a delay of body burial for the three victims and a request for fingerprints from Coleman. Obviously, this all could be just coincidence mixed with standard police work. But I don’t know…something smells mighty fishy…and I swear, the false death threats by mail proceeding a murder has been done before – I am positive on that.

But whoever was able to strangle those two boys is a monster of major proportions.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Who Killed Brian Tzeo’s Family? (dreamindemon.com)
• Thomas Ludwig Shut That Little Bitch Up (dreamindemon.com)
• Kenneth Lopez Is A Real Bad-Ass (dreamindemon.com)

Lakeland, Florida–Nathan Bellar, 13, is lucky to be alive today…the rest of his family isn’t. After an argument with his wife, Troy Bellar, 34, opened fire on his family with a 7.62 mm rifle, killing his wife and two of his children, before turning the gun on himself.

Troy Ryan Bellar (undated photo)

While the motive behind the killings is unclear, authorities believe Troy’s wife, Wendy, may have been attempting to leave the home with two of the couple’s children, when he went ballistic. He shot and killed his wife and two of their children…5-month-old Zack James Bellar, and 7-year-old Ryan Patrick Bellar. He pursued his older son, Nathan, through the garage, firing several rounds at the child. Nathan was lucky enough to escape his wigged out dad and make it safely to a neighbor’s home. He has been placed with family members.

‘This is one of the most tragic, senseless and horrific crimes we have investigated,’ Sheriff Grady Judd said. Couldn’t agree more, Sheriff. Records show Troy Bellar was arrested in ‘94 on suspicion of aggravated assault and again in ‘99 for DUI. Wendy Bellar, 31, was arrested in March of this year on suspicion of domestic battery.

Source

Related articles by Zemanta

• Vincent Kicked The Dog And Shook The Baby (dreamindemon.com)
• April Porter Makes Very Bad Decisions (dreamindemon.com)

UPDATE – Suspect identified as Chiew Chan Saevang, a suspected opium smuggler . Washington County Utah it is being reported police were involved in a car chase with the suspect early this morning, who was with is girlfriend, Yer Yang. Catawba County Sheriff’s Office tells NewsChannel 36 the suspect shot Yer Yang as they were being followed by Utah authorities and then turned the gun on himself as the vehicle ran off the roadway. Drugs seem to be the motive.

Chiew Chan Saevang

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. – I don’t normally like to report on cases like this as they will usually get enough major press anyway. But this one is local to me, the story quite tragic, and someone out there killed four people on Thursday morning and has not been caught yet. The picture above is a sketch of the person they are looking for. On Thursday morning, a friend of 18-year-old Pauline Chao arrived at her home to take her to Bunker Hill High School. She observed a man run to the back of the house as they were driving off and informed Pauline what she had seen. Pauline asked to be taken back to the home, and as her friend watched in horror, a man from inside drug Pauline through the front door and begin attacking her. The teen ran off calling 911. By time police arrived 18 minutes later, Pauline, her mother, Lisa Saephan, her sister, 20-year-old Melanie Saephan, and her brother, 3-year-old Cody Saechao were all dead of stab and gunshot wounds.

The husband was at work in Statesville at the time of the murders, and since receiving news of his family’s death, he has not eaten and has stated he no longer has anything to live for. And I can sympathize with the guy. Investigators have stated that the women attempted to fight off their attacker. They also found a gun behind the house as well as two stolen cars near the residence. The suspect is described as a Hispanic or Asian man in his late 30s or early 40s, and about 5 feet 4 inches tall. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans or sweatpants believed to be in a black or dark blue newer model Toyota Camry with the partial license plate P24.

Brian Tzeo, Lisa Seaphan, Melanie Saephan, Pauline Chao on dreamindemon.com

“My personal opinion is that this was a selected situation. It was not random,” Sheriff David Huffman. said. “They did not arbitrarily pick that house. They knew who lived there and what the situation was because the father had gone to work in another county, apparently. The person apparently knew the pattern, if you will, that the three women and the little child would be there.” “It appears at this point in the investigation he knew where he was going, and he came to do what he wanted to,” Major Coy Reid said.

Suspect sketch in Lisa Saephan family murder

Like I said, this will be covered good enough, with an airing on AMW on Saturday, but whatever. At this point, any bit of information being spread couldn’t hurt.

UPDATE – More details to come, but just heard on the news that at 2 a.m., police released an APB on the suspect in this case. Then in Washington County Utah it is being reported police were involved in a high speed chase with the suspect early this morning, who also had a female passenger. Catawba County Sheriff’s Office tells NewsChannel 36 the suspect shot his girlfriend as they were being followed by Utah authorities and then turned the gun on himself as the vehicle ran off the roadway. News conference at 9 a.m.

Timothy Sturgel

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio - On Saturday morning, 911 received a call from 13-year-old Emily Hurst. She was calling to report that her stepbrother, 26-year-old Timothy Sturgel, had just shot her stepfather.”He’s coming. My mom!,” she screamed before the line went dead. When police arrived at the home, they witnessed Timothy Sturgel outside with an assault rifle. Timothy then turned and went back in the house, and allegedly started a fire inside. He then came back out, unarmed, and was taken into custody.

Once inside the home, police found Timothy’s adoptive father, Jerry Sturgel, 51; his step-mother Mary Sturgel, 40, and his 13-year-old stepsister, Emily Hurst all dead from gunshot wounds. Detectives said the bodies were riddled with bullets. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said that Timothy has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He has not made a formal statement, nor has he given a motive for the attack, but Jerry Sturgel’s cousin, Cindy Smith, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that Timothy was one of Jerry’s three adopted children and that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Timothy Sturgel heard voices that told him to do bad things, Cindy Smith said. She also stated that Jerry was tired of Timothy’s crap and was going to kick him out of the house. Police records show that deputies have been called to the house before for psychiatric emergencies. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Timothy had been ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment at least four times.

Here is the 911 phone call provided by the Cincinnati Enquirer: “My stepdad got shot – my stepbrother shot my stepdad,” a trembling teenage voice tells the 911 dispatcher.
“OK, I’m going to get you some help out there; what’s the address?” the dispatcher asks. “9753 Sacramento Street,” the girl says, gaining composure.
As the dispatcher verifies the address, another female voice is heard in the background.
“What’s your name?” the dispatcher asks the girl.
“Emily Hurst.” Garbled voices continue. Emily gasps for air.
The dispatcher regains the teen’s attention, asking questions about the person shot.
“Who shot him?” The dispatcher doesn’t get an answer. Just this: “He’s coming.”
Emily screams. “My mom!”
Someone fumbles with buttons on the phone, and the line goes dead.

This story leads to all kinds of different discussions, in particular, exactly how crazy does a relative have to be before you kick him the hell out? Especially when he is around a 13-year-old. Some types of crazy is a given. Like if you come home to your kid dancing around the yard in his mother’s underwear wearing your neighbor’s face like a mask. No question there…fucker’s gotta go. Now. But when it is bi-polar type stuff…mental conditions that can usually be controlled by medication…

But then again, this family could have been scared shitless of the guy…hesitant on kicking him out for fear of some type of outburst like this one. I also wonder if money comes in to play in a situation like this. The family was BROKE. Jerry had just been laid off and the family had filed for bankruptcy. Had they the financial means, I wonder if there would have been a different outcome for the family had they had more options…or would it have even mattered. I’m curious if Timothy had prescriptions for his mental dis-order, if they could afford them, or if he was even taking them if he could.

Here is some veejo, yo!

Houston, TX -On Friday morning, Triska LaShaun Rose, 38, didn’t show up for work.  Her daughters, Briana Roberson, 15, and Maya Love, 7, didn’t show up for school.  Immediately, everyone knew something was wrong.  Rose never skipped work without calling.  She made sure her kids were at school.  None of Rose’s emergency contacts had heard from her.  Nobody could reach her.  Triska Rose’s family called police.

Houston PD officers went by the Turtlewood Condominiums in southwest Houston once, but nobody answered the door.  Everything looked okay outside.  With no sign of forced entry and no reason to believe Rose would harm herself or her children, the police left.

At around 5:00 p.m. Friday, relatives got tired of waiting. Something, they said, was very very wrong. A group of worried friends and relatives went over the condo’s patio fence and broke into the home.  Inside the apartment lay Triska, Briana and Maya.  They’d been brutally murdered.

All three victims were found with their hands bound with wire behind their backs and appeared to have been stabbed with a sharp object and strangled with a telephone cord.  Maya, the youngest, was wrapped in a blanket – usually seen as a sign of remorse from a killer who knows and cares for a child victim.  Briana, described as energetic and bouncy by family, was found face down in a bathroom.  And Triska was “covered in blood”, according to the family members who found her.

Missing from the bloody scene was Rose’s fiance’, Garland Bernell Harper.  A career felon who finished a ten-year prison term this year, Harper is not Briana or Maya’s father. He is, however, an “ordained minister”, according to Rose’s stepbrother Donald Farley.  Farley had Harper, Rose and the girls in his home during Hurricane Ike and said that the family unit seemed stable, with lots of “cooking and praying” during the visit.  So where was he?

Nobody’s sure where he was all that afternoon, but late on Friday evening, Garland Harper returned to the scene of the murders, where he turned himself in to Houston police.  Cause of death for the three victims is pending autopsy and should be released early this week.

The only real question now is why.  I’ve got my eye on a motive, but it’s purely speculation – I’d bet Harper was making moves on Briana and she told her mother.  Rather than give up “his girls”, Harper killed them.  But that’s just my Dreamin’ Demonized eye.  Could have been anything from finances to drugs to just plain meanness.

Garland Bernell Harper is being held in the Harris County Jail on capital murder charges. He is scheduled to be in court today.  We’ll update this case as more details become available.

Unamused Cat is not amused in our forums.

SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP, Pa. - A bomb squad was dispatched to a home in South Fayette Township and discovered six chlorine compression bombs that had been placed near the heads of five members of the Janney family while they had been sleeping. had they gone off, they could have been killed or at the very least, seriously injured. Police have now arrested Christopher Janney, aged 16.

Police state that after he had placed the homemade bombs, he left the house. He then texted a friend a message that stated “I went through with my plan.” Police also found the boy had a gas mask as well as a chemical mask and a bag of chlorine tablet. Court documents mention that that Janney had used a pepper grinder to grind up rat poison, but they do not indicate if it was ever used.

Janney has been charged as an adult with conspiracy and reckless endangerment.

Do the people these kids talk to NEVER take it seriously? It seems as if almost everytime, these kids are openly talking about what they are going to do. It looks as if in this case, whoever he texted notified police, but it is obvious by the text message, he had been talking about it for awhile.

Wittman, AZ - On Monday night, Virgil M. Togstad III, 26, called 911 to report that he’d shot his parents and brother in their Arizona home. When police arrived and took him into custody, Togstad looked around, let officers cuff him, and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have wasted my family.” Well, isn’t that the kind of decision that could have been made prior to the shooting, there, Virgil?

Monday night at about 7:30, Virgil Togstad III called 911 to report the shooting.  He told dispatch that his name was Virgil and that he had shot his parents and his brother.  When asked why he’d shot the victims, Virgil said that he did it “because they are not his family.”  Except that they were.

When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Virgil Togstad Jr. and Luisa Togstad, Virgil’s parents.  They also found Virgil’s brother, whose name has not been released.  One body was in the house, one was outside on the lawn, and one was “near a doorway.” Togstad swore he hadn’t been drinking or using drugs, but as it turned out, he was pretty wasted himself.  Officers kinda knew he was lying at the scene, what with the alcohol smell everywhere.

According to the brother’s girlfriend, who was at the home, the Togstads were in the yard shooting a BB gun at a target Monday evening.  Togstad Jr., the dad, asked Virgil if he wanted to shoot it.  Virgil said no.  Then Virgil took a handgun from his waistband and shot a round at the target with that instead.

When Virgil’s dad got mad and began to lecture Virgil about using the hanfgun, Virgil turned the handgun on his dad and shot him five times.  When his mom, Luisa Togstad, started screaming, Virgil shot her too.  Then the witness saw Togstad’s brother, her boyfriend, lying on the ground.

Virgil responded by telling passersby to back off, which they did given that he was waving a gun and obviously knew how to use it.  He then called 911.

Thing is, Virgil’s parents knew he was a right nutball years ago and even sent him out of state for treatment. Last year, he held a knife to his mother’s neck after a money dispute, but was judged competent to stand trial.  His parents went so far as to write letters to the judge asking for leniency in sentencing, and Virgil got three years probation instead of prison.  He moved back into their home, where he had always lived.  That’s some blind parental devotion, don’t you think?

Virgil M. Togstad III is being charged with three counts of first-degree murder.  He is being held at the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix.

Here is a video with some more detail:

Salt Lake City – A murder-suicide that happened in a home in South Salt Lake almost looks inevitable once all the details have started to come out. Tracie Williamson, 28, her 10-year-old daughter, Linzie, her live-in boyfriend Peter Perez,34, and his 1-year-old daughter all lay dead in the home they lived in together. They had been shot to death by Perez before he then turned the gun on himself.

Tracie first told her father that Perez was mentally and physically abusing her about a year ago. She went as far as writing a letter four weeks ago detailing the incidents, Perez’s threats to kill her if she told anyone, and a time when he threatened to kill himself while placing the barrel of a gun in his mouth. Williamson’s family tried to file a protective order on Williamson’s behalf but could not do so since Tracie was an adult she had to be the one file it. No less than three welfare checks had been requested, resulting in police going to the home twice in April and ending with Tracie telling the officer’s nothing was wrong and that she was fine.

On May 10th, they were called again by the family of Tracie. When the officer’s checked, it appeared as no one was at the home and that nothing was out of the ordinary. They went back again on Monday after Tracie’s sister called to tell police they have not been seen or heard from in over a week. On this visit the bodies of all four were found after an officer decided to pry open a window and immediately caught the smell of decomposition. He also saw a body lying on the floor. Police have not released what rooms the bodies were in, or if they were all together, but they have stated a suicide note was found by Perez’s body. The contents of the note has not been released.

Other details being reported are that Perez did have a permit to carry a concealed weapon and that he was introduced to Tracie by his ex-wife. The family is stating that they did not like Perez and felt that he was taking advantage of Tracie’s low self-esteem. He alienated her from her family, and in a strange bit of information, was running some sort of religious service in the basement of the home. Tracie also has a 7-year-old daughter who is living with Tracie’s father after he forced her to sign over guardianship. He was in the process of having the same thing done for Linzie as well.

What makes this story more tragic for everyone involved, and probably not unlike other situations currently being experienced by women across the country, is the fact that the warning signs were plain to see and that unlike some of the stories we report about, family did try to get involved and tried to get help for Tracie before something like this happened. While I can certainly understand the frustration being experienced by the family, I cannot find fault with the police in this case as I do think they did what they could and ran into a situation they probably see daily in which help is being offered to a person but the person refuses to accept it. How far should a family be able to go in situations like this? Or the police, for that matter.

Don’t blame me for the terrible title…I sort of stole it from the Salt Lake Tribune. Thanks for the heads up, Unamused Cat.