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Mary Richardson Kennedy, Estranged Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Found Dead in Apparent Suicide in Barn

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
mary richardson kennedy Mary Richardson Kennedy, Estranged Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Found Dead in Apparent Suicide in Barn

Mary Richardson Kennedy, Estranged Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Found Dead in Apparent Suicide in Barn (Getty Images)

Mary Richardson Kennedy, 52, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hanged herself in a barn behind her Westchester home Wednesday. Kennedy, the mother of four children, was the second wife of Robert Kennedy Jr. Mary Richardson Kennedy was an architect and a designer. She fought alcohol and drugs.  She had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in 2010. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

 

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Daniel Holt and Wife Erica Holt Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in Natchez MS

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

NATCHEZ MURDER-SUICIDE:  Daniel Holt shot and killed his wife, Erica Holt, while she was at an Exxon gas station on Homochitto Street and John R. Junkin Drive early Wednesday in Natchez, Miss. Daniel Holt then fled the scene and was found by police after he wrecked his car, the Natchez Democrat reports. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest after the police approached his vehicle. Erica Holt was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds at the Natchez Regional Medical Center.

There was a history of domestic violence with this couple. Erica Holt’s murder could have been prevented. How many more murder-suicides do we have to hear about before the alarm is sounded and domestic violence is taken more seriously? Just yesterday, Tonya Thomas killed her four kids and herself in an apparent quadruple murder-suicide in Port St. John, Fla. Last week Amy Freeman Burton and her daughter Ainsley Freeman died in a murder-suicide in Pleasanton, Calif.

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Tonya Thomas Kills Self, Four Children in Quadruple Murder-Suicide in Port St. John FL

May 15, 2012 By 8 Comments
tonya thomas Tonya Thomas Kills Self, Four Children in Quadruple Murder Suicide in Port St. John FL

Tonya Thomas Kills Self, Four Children in Quadruple Murder-Suicide in Port St. John FL (Brevard County Sheriff's Office)

PORT ST. JOHN MURDER-SUICIDE:  Tonya Thomas (Tanya Thomas)  fatally shot her four kids, ages 12 to 17, and then turned the gun on herself in an apparent quadruple murder-suicide early Tuesday morning as the SWAT team surrounded her home, located at 7245 Bright Avenue, Port St. John, FL. The children have been identified as Pebbles Johnson, 17; Jaxs Johnson, 15; Jazlin Johnson, 13; and Joel Johnson, 12.

Three of the children had gone to a neighbor’s front door before dawn to say their mother had shot them. The mother then called the children back to the house and killed them, Goodyear said.

“From what the neighbors said, she was very calm. She walked out and called them back. They turned around and walked back to the house,” Goodyear said. The neighbor then heard gunshots and called 911.

Another neighbor told deputies that Thomas sent a text message in the middle of the night saying she wanted to be cremated with her children. ”He didn’t see the text until he woke up this morning,” Goodyear said. Source

Why would this woman do this to her kids and herself? Why? Where is the father of the children? Seems to me Tonya Thomas may have found herself in a desperate place. That’s no justification for killing yourself and your children, but something went wrong somewhere. According to media reports, the children were characterized as troublesome by neighbors. One son, Jaxs Johnson had recently been arrested on a domestic violence charge. Tonya Thomas was 16 when she had her first child. She was a baby having a baby. She was separated from the father of her children, the New York Post reports.

tonya thomas kills her four kids in Port St. John 300x168 Tonya Thomas Kills Self, Four Children in Quadruple Murder Suicide in Port St. John FL

Tonya Thomas Kills Her Four Kids shown here, and then herself. Clockwise from top left: Pebbles Johnson, 17, Jaxs Johnson, 15, Joel Johnson, 12, Jazlin Johnson, 13. (Brevard County Sheriff's Office.)

UPDATE#1 (05/15/12):  Statement from school district: “Brevard Public Schools is saddened to learn of the tragic deaths of four of its students. The police have released the students’ names and crisis teams/grief counselors have been sent to the respective schools to help students, faculty and staff deal with this heartbreaking news. The district asks that you please respect the enormity of this loss and do not attempt to call or go on school campuses regarding this situation.

This is a police matter and all issues related to the specifics of this case should be directed to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department.  Please contact District Communications with any other questions.”

UPDATE#2 (05/15/12):  ABC News is reporting that the family has a history of domestic violence and in April, Jaxs Johnson threw a bicycle through a window in the house and threatened his mother. The police report said the next day, when she woke him up for school, he kicked and punched her repeatedly, she pushed back and they began to scuffle.

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Prayer vigil planned for Wednesday night

First Baptist Church of Port St. John, located less than two miles from the shooting,  will host a community prayer vigil Wednesday at 7 p.m. The vigil is open to the public at the church’s main sanctuary, at 3900 Fay Blvd. 

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Todd Waingrow Kills Estranged Wife Leslie Waingrow, Self in Apparent Murder-Suicide in West Toledo

May 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
todd waingrow Todd Waingrow Kills Estranged Wife Leslie Waingrow, Self in Apparent Murder Suicide in West Toledo

Todd Waingrow Kills Estranged Wife Leslie Waingrow, Self in Apparent Murder-Suicide in West Toledo (Facebook)

WEST TOLEDO MURDER-SUICIDE: Todd Waingrow and estranged wife Leslie Waingrow, 32, were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide in their West Toldeo, Ohio, home. Police went to the home, located in the 3900 block of Burnham Avenue, after relatives were unable to contact Leslie Waingrow or her estranged husband. The Toledo Blade reports the couple had been arguing Friday night, police said. Todd Waingrow, 39, shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself. This alarming trend continues. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Leslie Waingrow and Todd Waingrow. This is not the way to solve your problems. The couple married in 2005.

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Michael Grindrod and Wife Sara Grindrod Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in North Fort Myers

May 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
michael grindrod 210x300 Michael Grindrod and Wife Sara Grindrod Dead in Apparent Murder Suicide in North Fort Myers

Michael Grindrod and Wife Sara Grindrod Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in North Fort Myers (Facebook)

NORTH FORT MYERS MURDER-SUICIDE:  Sara Grindrod and her husband Michael Grindrod were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in their Fort Myers home Friday. The News-Press reports the incident was domestic-violence related and Michael Grindrod committed suicide after killing his wife. They leave behind two young sons.

 

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Susan Beran and Elderly Mother Florence Beran Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in Stamford CT Home

May 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

STAMFORD MURDER-SUICIDE:  Susan Beran, 57, shot and killed her elderly mother, Florence Beran, in their Stamford, Conn., home Friday. Police were dispatched to 1412 Long Ridge Road Friday for a welfare check of the residents when they found Florence Beran, 85, dead from a gunshot wound downstairs and Susan Beran dead in an upstairs bedroom from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The utilities in the home had been shut off for about a year and the home was in a deplorable condition. Florence Beran was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Stamford police believe Susan Beran was caring for her mother.

 

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Gary Zalevsky Kills Brian Weiss, Self in Apparent Murder-Suicide Over Lunch at JFK Hilton Hotel

May 11, 2012 By 1 Comment

JFK HILTON HOTEL MURDER-SUICIDE:  Sunny Isles, Fla., resident Gary Zalevsky shot and killed Brian Weiss in a restaurant at the JFK Hilton Hotel as he dined with the victim and three other men, and then turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide. Brian Weiss, 31, of Davie, Fla., was the CEO of a shady Florida-based food-supplement company named FWM Laboratories. The firm was reportedly among 50 sued in Manhatttan federal court in 2009 for falsely implying that Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Mehmet Oz endorsed their products. It was not clear what the men were arguing about moments before gunfire rang out, but the other men were taken into custody for questioning and have already lawyered up. Um, smells stinky….

 

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Menallen Township PA Couple Jeff Mowen and Wife Mary Mowen Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

MENALLEN TOWNSHIP MURDER-SUICIDE:  Another murder-suicide to report. This time the bodies of a central Pennsylvania couple, Jeff Mowen and wife Mary Mowen, were found in their Menallen Township home Thursday. Investigators say they believe the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide, but are awaiting the results of autopsies to be performed. There is something very wrong in our society today where some feel they have the right to solve their problems by killing their spouses or significant other and their children. We recently covered the alleged murder-suicide of Amy Freeman Burton and her daughter Ainsley Freeman. This is another senseless act of violence.

 

 

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Joseph Damato and Wife Julianne Damato Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in Barrington Hills

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

BARRINGTON HILLS MURDER-SUICIDE:  Joseph Damato and wife Julianne Damato were found dead in their Barrington Hills home Wednesday night in an apparent murder-suicide. The couple, ages 56 and 47 respectively, were pronounced dead at their home in the 100 block of Lakeview Lane, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

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Wilnery Polanco-Uben, 11, Commits Suicide by Hanging After Text Messages to Friends Ignored

May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Wilnery Polanco-Uben, an 11 year old Bronx girl, committed suicide by hanging herself from a bedroom door after sending suicidal text messages to friends that were largely ignored.

NY Daily News:  Landlord Bobby Singh said he heard screaming in the Croes Ave. apartment about 7 p.m. Monday, ran downstairs and found the girl’s mother in hysterics.

“She said her daughter was missing. Everyone in the building began searching for her,” he said.

“We opened the door in the apartment, but no one saw her. We looked outside. We looked everywhere.

“After about 20 minutes, my cousin looked at their apartment again and that’s when he saw her. She was hanging behind the door, but no one noticed because the door was opened and she was behind it.”

Another neighbor said the mother then ran out of the building screaming, “My daughter is choking. Help! Help.”

What made Wilnery Polanco-Uben, a student at Intermediate School 98,  feel she had no other outlet but to commit suicide to solve her problems? This is such a tragedy. A word of advice to anyone who receives suicidal text messages — take them serious because they are a cry for help. Statistics from the  Centers for Disease Control state  fewer than one in 100,000 children ages 10-14 commit suicide, though the number sharply rises among older teens and young adults.

pixel Wilnery Polanco Uben, 11, Commits Suicide by Hanging After Text Messages to Friends Ignored
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