A mother killed her 2-year-old son, husband and mother-in-law before taking her own life inside the family’s Woodbridge, Virginia, home on Saturday, according to police.
A mother killed her 2-year-old son, husband and mother-in-law before taking her own life inside the family’s Woodbridge, Virginia, home on Saturday, according to police.
Prince William County police arrived to the home in the 3400 block of Vale Court around 8 a.m. Saturday where they found the family of four stabbed to death in an apparent murder-suicide.
According to a release from police Monday, 35-year-old Ziyi Lu is believed to have attacked her family. Lu allegedly stabbed her mother-in-law, Kegang Xie, 69, and her husband, Danxiong Gao, 40.
An autopsy confirmed Lu, and the three other family members, died from “knife-related injuries.”
The couple’s 2-year-old son was also killed. The child won’t be publicly named because of his age, police said.
The grandfather of the 2-year-old discovered the family Saturday morning after the attack had unfolded, police said.
Col. Peter Newsham, Prince William County’s police chief, called the murder-suicide “the worst possible nightmare.”
“We don’t know the exact cause or the motive in this case, but just to see a family destroyed like this is horrific,” Newsham said Saturday.
Police said the weapon that was used in the stabbing was recovered.
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander contributed to this story.
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A family of four was found dead from stab wounds from an apparent murder-suicide in their home in Woodbridge, Virginia, early Saturday morning.
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander reports police found four bodies, including a 2-year old child, at a Woodbridge, Virginia, townhouse Saturday morning.
A family of four was found dead from stab wounds from an apparent murder-suicide in their home in Woodbridge, Virginia, early Saturday morning.
Police block off the scene of a house in Woodbridge, Virginia, where an apparent murder-suicide took place on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)
Police block off the scene of a house in Woodbridge, Virginia, where an apparent murder-suicide took place on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)
According to Prince William County police, officers arrived on scene in the 3400 block of Vale Court after 8 a.m. and found four people dead inside the home.
There was a man in his 40s, a woman in her 70s, a 2-year-old and the presumed suspect — a woman in her 30s, who they believe was the child’s mother.
Everyone in the home was stabbed. They were discovered by an elderly man who lives in the basement. Police believe he’s the child’s grandfather.
“Compare it to the worst possible nightmare you’ve ever had,” said Col. Peter Newsham, Prince William County’s police chief. “We don’t know the exact cause or the motive in this case, but just to see a family destroyed like this is horrific.”
Sonya Gonzalez has lived near the townhouse where the bodies were found for eight years and was shocked to hear the news of the murder-suicide.
“This is a good neighborhood. Never seen fights or any domestic fights or anything around here,” she told WTOP.
The investigation is ongoing as Newsham said that the elderly man inside the house is cooperating.
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander contributed to this story.
WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander reports one of the four victims in the apparent murder-suicide in Woodbridge, Virginia, was a 2-year-old boy.
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Six people in Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are dead in what police say is a cross-state murder spree by the same suspect Wednesday morning. The suspect was also found dead, authorities said.
Police say the murder spree began in the upscale Victoria Park neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale and ended in a gated community in Sarasota County, about 200 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department said it received a call for a well-being check on the 500 block of Northeast 15th Avenue, where they found two adults, identified as Larisa Blyudaya, 46, and Ben Azivov, 18, dead in the home. They were both residents of Fort Lauderdale.
The property manager for the home spoke with CBS News Miami, confirming Ben Azivov is the son of Larisa Blyudaya.
“She was just a happy, happy woman,” said property manager Joe Askerberg. “Never an ounce of negative energy in all my time dealing with her.
A neighbor told CBS News Miami that he saw someone go into the residence on Tuesday morning.
“[Y]esterday morning, I was loading my tools in my vehicle, and I saw a guy come running around here, and he went to the driveway and hit the keypad on the garage door, and the door went up, and I just didn’t think anything of it,” Mark Scinna said. “And then I got a call around 3 o’clock … what had happened. I started tying everything together and I was like, ‘Man, I hope that wasn’t the guy that I saw.”
Across the state, Sarasota police were called after they say a man was shot at the front door of a home in a gated community in the Amberlea neighborhood near Proctor and McIntosh roads. There, the bodies of five victims were found, including the suspect, who police identified as Russell Kot, 51, of Fort Lauderdale. Police believe Kot died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Askerberg said Blyudaya moved to South Florida from Chicago late last year. Her son and Kot lived with her, all residing in separate rooms, according to Askerberg. He said Kot kept to himself.
“He was very quiet. I have been scratching my head, wondering where, how he would go through with this, and then also drive four hours and see red the whole time and commit more,” Askerberg said.
The other four victims ranged in age from 39 to 66. They were identified as Olga Greinert, 49, Florita Stolyar, 66, Anatoly Ioffe, 61, and Yaroslav Blyudoy, 39.
Matt Binkley of the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office said police have accounted for “all persons” in the incident and there’s no threat to the public.
Regarding a motive in the Fort Lauderdale shooting, investigators say the gunman had a romantic relationship with one of the victims. The connection between the other victims in Sarasota County is still unknown. Fort Lauderdale police said homicide detectives are investigating.
Sarasota Police said they are not aware of any mental health crises or history of violence related to Kot.
A woman was arrested after deputies caught her in the process of an apparent murder-suicide with her great-granddaughter Monday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said the woman, Deborah Collier, 69, was charged with attempted first-degree murder. It all started when Collier’s family found a suicide note. Deputies began looking for her after she left her home in the Daytona Park Estates area of DeLand and left behind a suicide note.A VSO deputy spotted her vehicle and conducted a traffic stop for a well-being check. Collier was located behind the wheel, while her 13-year-old great-granddaughter was unconscious in the passenger seat, according to the VSO. Deputies said the child had white pill residue on her and found her totally unresponsive. Inside Collier’s purse, authorities found prescription pills and a typed note explaining she was ending her and her great-granddaughter’s lives to spare the family further stress.Detectives learned that the victim requires 24-hour care due to her disabilities. Collier and her husband were her sole guardians since birth. VSO said the demands of caretaking have contributed to significant stress in the family.Because Collier opposed placing the victim in an assisted living facility, she acted out of desperation and decided to end both her great-granddaughter’s life and her own, according to deputies. Collier believed that no one would care for her like family.Deputies said she was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail and is currently being held without bond.If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —
A woman was arrested after deputies caught her in the process of an apparent murder-suicide with her great-granddaughter Monday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the woman, Deborah Collier, 69, was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
It all started when Collier’s family found a suicide note.
Deputies began looking for her after she left her home in the Daytona Park Estates area of DeLand and left behind a suicide note.
A VSO deputy spotted her vehicle and conducted a traffic stop for a well-being check.
Collier was located behind the wheel, while her 13-year-old great-granddaughter was unconscious in the passenger seat, according to the VSO.
Deputies said the child had white pill residue on her and found her totally unresponsive.
Inside Collier’s purse, authorities found prescription pills and a typed note explaining she was ending her and her great-granddaughter’s lives to spare the family further stress.
Detectives learned that the victim requires 24-hour care due to her disabilities. Collier and her husband were her sole guardians since birth.
VSO said the demands of caretaking have contributed to significant stress in the family.
Because Collier opposed placing the victim in an assisted living facility, she acted out of desperation and decided to end both her great-granddaughter’s life and her own, according to deputies.
Collier believed that no one would care for her like family.
Deputies said she was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail and is currently being held without bond.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
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Terrell police have identified four people who found shot to death inside a North Texas home on Christmas Eve in what appears to be a case of family violence.
Three victims, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed by gunshots and the fourth person died of a self-inflicted gunshot, the Terrell Police Department said in a news release on Monday.
The victims were identified as 66-year-old Philip Dale Humphrey, of Kaufman; 62-year-old Sherry Lynn Bostick, of Terrell; and a 12-year-old boy from Wills Point. The child’s identity is being withheld at the family’s request, police said.
A 38-year-old man, Casey Dale Humphrey, of Forney, died by suicide, according to the release.
Police found the bodies in the home in the 200 block of Rash Lane while making a welfare check after they received a 911 call. The investigation is ongoing.
A San Diego Police Department cruiser at a crime scene. (File photo courtesy of OnScene.TV)
Police are investigating the deaths of an elderly couple found shot to death in their Del Mar Heights home as a murder-suicide, officials said.
The bodies of Johann and Kaethe Oesterreicher, both 83, were found shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday in the home in the 12000 block of Caminito Del Pasaje, according to Lt. Chris Tivanian of the San Diego Police Department. A gun was nearby.
“Upon arriving on scene, officers located an adult male and female inside, both with fatal gunshot wounds,” Tivinian said. “The couple was pronounced deceased at the scene by SDPD officers.”
The SDPD homicide unit is investigating.
Anyone with information regarding the case was encouraged to call the detectives at 619-531-2293.
HOUSTON — Two people are dead in an apparent murder-suicide at Rice University in Houston.
University police say a female student was found shot dead Monday in her dorm room and a man, who was not a student was also found dead with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
University President Reginald DesRoches identified the student as Andrea Rodriguez Avila.
“This is a speech that no president ever wants to make,” said DesRoches. “As president of Rice University I’m heartbroken to share the loss of one of our students, Andrea Rodriguez Avila. Rice University Police responded to a welfare check this afternoon at around 4:30 p.m. and found Andrea deceased in her room along with an unidentified male with a self-inflicted gunshot wound who was not a member of the Rice community.”
Clemente Rodriguez, the Rice University Police Chief, said a family member had not heard from Avila and asked the police to check on her and make sure she was ok.
Rodriguez said officers checked to see if Avila had been in class and found that she had not gone to class. It was around 4:30 p.m. when officers went to check her dorm room and see if she needed anything.
“So we made entry to the room and that’s when we discovered her,” said Rodriguez.
Police say there was no sign of forced entry to the dorm room and Rodriguez said the man found in Avila’s room was not a registered visitor.
Students and staff were locked down for roughly two hours before a shelter-in-place order was lifted around 7 p.m.
“As a parent of a past Rice student, I can only imagine how devastating this must be,” DesRoches said. “We are communicating with Andrea’s parents and are flying them out early tomorrow morning. We ask the community to keep us in your prayers as we comfort each other this evening.”
Monday was the first day of class. All remaining classes and activities were canceled for the day.
S.E. Jenkins is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. She has also been a Digital Content Producer in Tallahassee and Myrtle Beach. S.E. graduated with journalism degrees from Texas State University, Aarhus Universitet and City, University of London.
HOUSTON – Four people are dead after two suspects murdered them before turning a gun on themselves and taking their own life.
Additionally, two other children, one in each instance, were also hurt during the two incidents.
On Thursday a mother was shot and killed by a man she was dating in Spring, according to investigators.
The man then shot himself.
Police say a young girl was also injured and flown to the hospital as a result of the incident.
And on Friday another man shot and killed a woman in Independence Heights. Investigators there say the man then tried to escape with the two-year-old child they shared together.
When police caught the man with the child on a bicycle, he pulled out a gun and took his own life.
These are extreme examples of domestic violence.
However, many cases live in the shadows of daily life throughout Houston.
That’s why KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding is having an open conversation with Sylvia Phillips, a legal advocate at Fresh Spirit Wellness.
Gage Goulding: “Two murder-suicides in the last 48 hours, right here in our city. What does that tell you about what’s going on in our community?”
Sylvia Phillips: “It tells me that people are not. The information is not getting out.”
Gage Goulding: “Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. It can impact anybody of any walk of life.”
Sylvia Phillips: “Absolutely. It can impact doctors, lawyers, teachers, teenagers.”
Gage Goulding: “It everybody who can they call? What can they do? I know they might feel alone, but what can they do? They’re not alone.”
Sylvia Phillips: “They’re not alone. There’s several organizations they can call one in particular this Fresh Spirit. They can always call us, and we will help them come up with a safety plan of getting out. They can even text the domestic violence hotline, which is 88788. 911 operators are trained to take calls from individuals in a domestic violence situation. All they have to do is dial 911 and tell the operator they would like to order a pizza. The operator immediately starts asking questions like how many pizzas do you want? One or two, that lets them know how many people are in the house. The abuser will usually stop and allow you to order food.”
Gage Goulding: “What can they look out for? Are there some telltale signs that, hey, there might be an issue happening here?”
Sylvia Phillips: “Yes, it’s sometimes it’s very subtle. It is controlling what you wear, controlling who you talk to, controlling what you eat.”
Gage Goulding: “Even not all domestic violence is about a relationship, though, right?”
Sylvia Phillips: “Correct. It is domestic violence. Is anyone living in the same house? It can be a domestic violence against, partners. It can be domestic violence against a mother, against a child, an adult child.
Gage Goulding: “What would you say to anybody that is looking for help, that needs that help?”
Sylvia Phillips: ”Make the call. Make the call. Call fresh spirit. We will guide you through getting out. That first step is is hard to do.”
If you are in immediate danger, safely call 911.
For more information, resources and local reporting on domestic violence in Houston – visit our Breaking Free webpage.
Help is also available immediately if you need it through the following numbers:
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, are investigating what they call a domestic-related murder-suicide at the Beltsville home of an elderly married couple.
Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, are investigating what they call a domestic-related murder-suicide at the Beltsville home of an elderly married couple.
Ji Tu, 78, and spouse Li Tu, 72, were found suffering gunshot wounds in their home in the 3600 block of Stonehall Drive when officers arrived Thursday around 6:25 p.m. for a welfare check, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department.
Police said Ji Tu was the murder suspect and shot his spouse before killing himself.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene, and the motive for the shooting is under investigation, police said.
Anyone with information relevant to this investigation can call Homicide Unit detectives at 301-516-2512, contact Crime Solvers online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device), or call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Tipsters may remain anonymous and should refer to case number 24-0026669.
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Police said a man was found dead in the home with a gunshot wound. His death was believed to be self-inflicted after shooting the woman, police told news outlets at the scene, including KTRK.
A motive for the shooting is unclear. Police said the incident was domestic related, according to KRIV.
Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate who has previously worked at the Paducah Sun and Madisonville Messenger as a sports reporter and the Lexington Herald-Leader as a breaking news reporter. Support my work with a digital subscription
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office responded to an apparent murder-suicide at a hospital on Thursday morning. According to HCSO, deputies responded to AdventHealth Sebring at 11:26 a.m. after reports of an active shooter situation. There, officials found a father and son dead. Deputies say a 66-year-old Sebring man brought his adult son, who was reportedly being somewhat combative, to the hospital. Once at the emergency room, officials say the son was placed in a mental health room. Inside that room, deputies say the father pulled out a handgun and fired shots into the wall — an apparent attempt to get other people out of the room, according to deputies. The man proceeded to shoot his son who was lying in bed, then shot himself. Deputies say both men were dead when they got to the scene.Officials have not reported any other injuries. The hospital was placed on lockdown and started diverting EMS traffic to a nearby facility. This incident is still under investigation.
SEBRING, Fla. —
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office responded to an apparent murder-suicide at a hospital on Thursday morning.
According to HCSO, deputies responded to AdventHealth Sebring at 11:26 a.m. after reports of an active shooter situation. There, officials found a father and son dead.
Deputies say a 66-year-old Sebring man brought his adult son, who was reportedly being somewhat combative, to the hospital. Once at the emergency room, officials say the son was placed in a mental health room.
Inside that room, deputies say the father pulled out a handgun and fired shots into the wall — an apparent attempt to get other people out of the room, according to deputies. The man proceeded to shoot his son who was lying in bed, then shot himself.
Deputies say both men were dead when they got to the scene.
Officials have not reported any other injuries.
The hospital was placed on lockdown and started diverting EMS traffic to a nearby facility.
A man and a 5-year-old child were found dead in a suspected murder-suicide in a Long Beach home after police spent hours outside the residence trying to make contact with the occupants.
Long Beach police said they responded to a “domestic dispute” call at a house in the 3400 block of Adriatic Avenue on Thursday around 2:40 p.m. When they arrived at the scene, the house was on fire, according to a post from the department on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Firefighters responded and extinguished the flames, but police believed the suspect in the domestic disturbance incident might be inside the home, authorities said.
A SWAT team responded to the scene, establishing a perimeter around the house and warning neighbors to either evacuate or shelter in place, police said.
SWAT negotiators then attempted to contact the person in the home. Although it is not clear how long the SWAT team was outside the home, police obtained a search warrant and entered the home about 12:15 a.m. Friday. Inside, they found a man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a 5-year-old child who was also dead, authorities said.
“Homicide detectives are on scene and are investigating this as a murder-suicide,” Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.
An Ohio mother and her two young children were fatally shot in an apparent murder-suicide by the woman’s husband, who had been previously arrested, accused of domestic violence, local police said.
Around 10 a.m. Sunday, officers were responding to a call about dogs running loose outside a residence on East 9th Street in Lorain, Ohio. When they went inside the second-floor apartment, they discovered the bodies of 29-year-old Tyler Young, his wife Skylar Young, 24, their 4-month-old son, Bandin Young, and Skylar’s 9-year-old daughter, Angel Issac, according to the Lorain Police Department (LPD).
Investigators believe that Tyler Young fatally shot his wife and the two children before killing himself, sometime from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m., LPD Lieutenant Jacob Morris said during a press conference on Monday.
Morris said investigators believe the incident was a murder-suicide, saying that Tyler Young was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head, and next to his body, investigators discovered a 9-millimeter firearm they believe was used in the killings. Two other firearms were found in the home, the lieutenant said.
“The shooting is still under investigation, and we have no final ruling, but we are not looking for any other suspects,” Morris said.
Police tape blocks off a crime scene. An Ohio man fatally shot his wife, 4-month-old son and 9-year-old stepdaughter before turning the gun on himself, local police said. Andri Tambunan / AFP/Getty
Newsweek reached out via email on Monday to the LPD for comment.
Tyler Young had been previously arrested on charges of domestic violence and strangulation in May, Morris said. During that incident, Skylar Young told police, she was physically and verbally abused, saying that she had been threatened and “slapped and choked” by her husband while she was 26 weeks pregnant with Bandin at the time, Morris said. However, the wife recanted her statement to police in June.
That case was presented to a Lorain County grand jury, which chose not to indict Tyler Young on any charges relating to the May incident.
While a family member told investigators that Tyler Young was having a “schizophrenic episode” when the May altercation occurred, according to a police report, Morris said it’s unclear whether he had been officially diagnosed with a mental illness.
Morris said that investigators did not have a suspected motive for the fatal shooting, but they believed Tyler Young’s mental issues could have played a role in the incident.
Skylar Young was the biological mother to both children, Morris said, noting that Tyler Young was the biological father to 4-month-old Bandin, but not to Angel, who attended the Horizon Science Academy, a charter school in Lorain, according to the LPD.
Newsweek reached out via email Monday night to Horizon Science Academy for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
A 20-year-old Georgia woman was fatally shot inside a Walmart on Wednesday by her ex-boyfriend, who then shot himself, police said.
Zoey Nicole Messenger was taken to the hospital in critical condition along with James Wyatt Nicholas Norton, 26, after the shooting at the Walmart where he worked, the Hiram Police Department said in a statement. They both died of their gunshot wounds.
Zoey Nicole Messenger in a photo shared on Facebook.
According to police, Norton approached Messenger for a brief conversation that “did not appear to be angry or animated” before pulling out a handgun to shoot her. It’s not clear if he was working at the time of the shooting.
Police said that they responded to a report of shots being fired at the store at about 7:22 p.m. and that when officers arrived, people were running out of the building.
Devani Lopez, who was inside the store at the time, told Atlanta station WAGA-TV that he ran to the exit as soon as he heard the second gunshot.
“I ran straight for the car,” Lopez said. “I could see everyone running for their lives. Everyone was just so panicked and scared.”
According Messenger’s social media pages, she had been in a relationship with Norton since 2022. In a Facebook post last week, though, she announced she’d entered a new relationship.
On Facebook, friends and family shared their shock over the shooting as they remembered Messenger as fun and loving.
In a statement to HuffPost, a spokesperson for Walmart confirmed that Norton was an associate and added that the company is doing everything it can to support employees, including on-site counseling services.
“We’re thankful for the local first responders and will continue to work with law enforcement during their investigation.”
A man fatally shot a woman, their 18-month-old daughter, and wounded another child before he was found dead hours later of a suicide on the bank of the Merrimack River, New Hampshire officials said.
The man, Jamie Bell, 42, was seen fleeing a home in Franklin on Saturday afternoon, New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Adam Woods said during an evening news conference. Neighbors said they had heard gunshots.
Police arrived at the home to find Nicole Hughes, 35, and Ariella Bell, her daughter with Jamie Bell, shot to death, Woods said.
Woods said Hughes and Jamie Bell were “intimate partners.” He provided no further details on their relationship.
Hughes’ 5-year-old daughter from another relationship had a gunshot wound to her arm and a cut on her back, Woods said. She was taken to a hospital in Massachusetts. Her injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.
Police spent several hours searching for Bell, first identified as a person of interest, on foot and by helicopter.
During the search, police warned residents to stay inside because Bell was believed to be armed and dangerous, CBS Boston reported.
Autopsies confirm mother and baby were shot to death in Franklin, NH; suspect died by suicide https://t.co/XDHKtFxSoz
“Just made sure we locked up right away and kept the kids away from the windows and everyone,” neighbor Kimberly Michaels told the station. “My heart goes out to the family.”
Autopsies on Sunday confirmed Hughes and her daughter were killed and Jamie Bell died from a single, self-inflicted wound to the neck and that his manner of death was suicide, CBS Boston reported.
The son of a former Red Sox star and his 8-year-old son were found dead in a New Bedford home in an alleged murder-suicide, authorities said.
CBS Boston reported that police went to the home of George C. Scott III, 54, and his son Dante Hazard on Friday morning for a wellness check. The two who had been living in the home on Phillips Road were found dead inside, authorities said. The well-being check was requested by a relative who had not been able to get in touch with the father, the Bristol District Attorney said in a news statement.
The District Attorney’s office said it appears the father, “killed the boy with a sharp object before taking his own life.”
Dante Hazard was the son of Lisa Hazard and George Scott III, authorities said. Hazard has been missing since 2019, and Scott is a person of interest in her disappearance, the Bristol District Attorney said in a news statement.
Then 28-year-old Hazard was last seen on March 3, in New Bedford, authorities said. At the time she was living on South Main Street in Falls Street, and she was supposed to go to a drug rehabilitation center, the Bristol District Attorney said.
The investigation is active and ongoing the Bristol District Attorney said.
A man who police say planted three explosives inside a Jehovah’s Witness worship hall before killing his wife and himself on Christmas Day is suspected of bombing a union building earlier in the day.
The explosives that Enoch Apodaca, 46, allegedly planted at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in suburban Denver, Colorado, all failed to detonate. But shortly before he went to the hall, Apodaca went to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 68 building, which police called his “place of business,” where he was seen entering the building with a bucket at around 8:45 a.m. Shortly after he left, there was a “large explosion,” police said.
The building was closed at the time and no one was hurt. Police said that the explosive devices used at Kingdom Hall match the one planted at the electrical workers’ building.
Police were called to Kingdom Hall at around 9:00 a.m., officials said, after a structure fire and shooting were reported. Investigators found that Apodaca had directed his wife, Melissa Martinez, to back a black Dodge truck up to a window of the building. Apodaca broke the window with a hammer, placed the explosives, and then approached his wife from behind with a shotgun. He shot her in the back of the head, then shot himself, police said.
There were two other people in the hall at the time, but they were not injured, police said. One person used a fire extinguisher to put out a fire that began near one of the failed explosives.
Investigators found that the couple had been previous members of the Kingdom Hall congregation, but were “no longer welcomed.” Apodaca had reached out to another member of the church expressing an interest in returning, but was directed to speak with Kingdom Hall elders. Police said both acts on Dec. 25 appeared to “be a result of personal issues Enoch had with his employer, and the couples’ own issues with Kingdom Hall.”
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Thornton, CO.
CBS
Just over a year before the explosions and shooting, a representative of Apodaca’s former employer said that he had told a Local 68 union representative that he would shoot his wife and the union representative after he and his wife lost their jobs, according to The Associated Press.
Apodaca also reportedly told the representative that he would “come after the people responsible” for him and his wife both losing their jobs, AP reported. According to an application for a protection order against Apodaca filed in December 2021, Apodaca had been fired in June of that same year, but the application didn’t say why, AP reported. It’s not clear under what circumstances Martinez lost her job.
Police said that investigators found no further explosives at the couple’s homes, but did find “numerous items consistent with the manufacturing of explosives similar to those found in Kingdom Hall.”
Personal belongings had also been set out and marked for individual family members.
Just after 5 a.m. last Friday, Oct. 20, authorities responded to a four-family apartment building in flames. It happened near Oxford Drive and Mansfield Court.Police told WISN 12 News they discovered six bodies inside the burning building. “You’re just in despair, because you don’t prepare for something like this,” said Village President, Jeffrey Pfannerstill.Police said Jessica McKisick, her 12 and 14-year-old daughters and her three-year-old twin boys were found inside with a single gunshot wound.Police said Connor McKisick was also found dead inside with a single gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted.”I was on a walk and I could smell it and I knew it was really bad. I walk early in the morning. Horrific,” said Marlene Millevolte. The tragedy is impacting even the youngest in Hartland. “I teach young students at my studio here in town and they were coming in from school after school, asking, ‘what’s being done, why isn’t anything being done?’” Millevolte said.A week following the tragedy, Millevolte, with the help of Pfannerstill and St. Charles Catholic Church held a vigil in Nixon Park. Dozens of community members gathered to pray, to sing and to mourn.”Just come together, show some hope, be a community and love each other. Letting these people know that we stand behind them and we’re not going to let them down, even if they were displaced. We’re like one big family,” Pfannerstill said.Three families that lived in the apartment building were displaced by the fire. Pfannerstill said anyone who wishes to help them can make donations to the Village of Hartland, which they will split evenly among the survivors.
HARTLAND, Wis. —
Just after 5 a.m. last Friday, Oct. 20, authorities responded to a four-family apartment building in flames. It happened near Oxford Drive and Mansfield Court.
Police told WISN 12 News they discovered six bodies inside the burning building.
“You’re just in despair, because you don’t prepare for something like this,” said Village President, Jeffrey Pfannerstill.
Police said Jessica McKisick, her 12 and 14-year-old daughters and her three-year-old twin boys were found inside with a single gunshot wound.
Police said Connor McKisick was also found dead inside with a single gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted.
“I was on a walk and I could smell it and I knew it was really bad. I walk early in the morning. Horrific,” said Marlene Millevolte.
The tragedy is impacting even the youngest in Hartland.
“I teach young students at my studio here in town and they were coming in from school after school, asking, ‘what’s being done, why isn’t anything being done?’” Millevolte said.
A week following the tragedy, Millevolte, with the help of Pfannerstill and St. Charles Catholic Church held a vigil in Nixon Park. Dozens of community members gathered to pray, to sing and to mourn.
“Just come together, show some hope, be a community and love each other. Letting these people know that we stand behind them and we’re not going to let them down, even if they were displaced. We’re like one big family,” Pfannerstill said.
Three families that lived in the apartment building were displaced by the fire. Pfannerstill said anyone who wishes to help them can make donations to the Village of Hartland, which they will split evenly among the survivors.
SHREVEPORT, La. – A man and two children are dead following a murder-suicide in Shreveport Tuesday night.
According to authorities, a dispute involving a man and woman occurred around 8 p.m. at a mobile home on Klug Pines Road. The woman was injured and the man involved then took the two children from the home by force to Bill Cockrell Metro Park on Pines Road.
The man, identified Wednesday afternoon as Anthony P. Smith, 25, then shot both children and turned the gun on himself at the park. Police found Smith, and a baby less than a year old dead inside of a car. The other child was taken to Ochsner LSU Health where the toddler died early Wednesday morning, police said.
Police said Smith and the woman did know each other.
“We never want to see violent crimes, but when you see violent crimes that are affecting small children and in this case one of these children was less than a year old,” police spokesman Cpl. Chris Bordelon said. “That is a certain type of evil that is really hard to put into words and it’s very hard to comprehend,”
The Caddo Coroner’s Office confirmed the identity of the victims as 10-month-old Lillian Rose Marter, called Lily by her family, and 2-year-old Ronnie Marter.
The children’s grandmother, Brandy Moreno, has created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
Lilly’s and Ronnie’s deaths are the 44th and 45th in Shreveport this year.
