Teen girl and man, 26, die in apparent Inglewood murder-suicide
A 17-year-old girl was killed in an apparent murder-suicide inside an Inglewood optometry center, authorities said Thursday.
The apparent shooter, 26-year-old Christopher James McLeish, was found dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a bathroom at the location.
MONCKS CORNER — The man accused of killing a woman and then himself Friday had just resigned as an agent from the State Law Enforcement Division days earlier in light of allegations he had assaulted the same woman after she ended their relationship.
Authorities say Charlie Boyette, 61, shot Mary Ann Cox, 44, as she was leaving work about 5:30 p.m. at the Southcoast Community Bank on East Main Street. He then turned the gun on himself. Both were dead when police arrived on the scene, investigators said Friday.
Cox had sought help from authorities before the shooting.
Cox told Berkeley County sheriff’s investigators on Monday that she had been in a romantic relationship with Boyette for more than a year and that he became upset when she tried to end it on July 4th, according to an incident report released on Saturday.
Cox told investigators she didn’t want the investigation into an alleged assault to go any further but asked that he not contact her any more.
Deputies told Boyette to stay away from Cox and forwarded her complaint to SLED Chief Mark Keel, who suspended Boyette. Keel asked the sheriff’s office to investigate the allegations because of their severity and to avoid a conflict of interest, according to a statement released by SLED Saturday.
Boyette resigned Wednesday in a letter his attorney sent to Keel.
Boyette was hired by SLED in 2000 and was a supervisor in the state agency’s intelligence department.
FORT PIERCE — After a sometimes contentious custody battle, a 3-year-old girl orphaned in a double murder and suicide is living with relatives in Georgia.
A circuit court judge’s order issued July 8 granted guardianship of the girl to Anne Lussier, the girl’s second cousin, and her husband, James Lussier.
“After all she’s been through, the Lussiers’ are really interested in getting (her) back into a normal routine and let her enjoy her youth,” said Vero Beach attorney Kevin Rollin, who represents the Lussiers.
On the evening of April 15, Christopher Covington, the girl’s father, shot and killed her 22-year-old mother, Stephanie Carrier, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child, and Carrier’s 48-year-old mother, Robin Carrier. Covington then killed himself.
Police found the 3-year-old girl uninjured in the family’s Fort Pierce home, where the incident occurred. She reportedly told an officer, “Daddy had a big gun.”
Senior circuit Judge James Midelis originally ruled that Dana Parks of Fort Pierce, the girl’s paternal grandmother, should have custody of the child after Department of Children and Families officials said Parks had cleared a home inspection and no other family members could be found.
Members of the Carrier family complained that the killer’s mother shouldn’t raise the girl. Several days later, Midelis reversed himself, ruling that Lisa Dupuis of Fort Pierce, the child’s great aunt, should have at least temporary custody.
As the switch was being arranged, it was learned that Parks, who had told Midelis she had never been convicted of a crime, had 1994 convictions in California for possession of a controlled substance and willful child cruelty.
At a hastily called Saturday hearing on April 23, Circuit Judge Larry Schack granted DCF’s request that any visits between Parks and her granddaughter be supervised.
Parks later was charged with perjury at an official proceeding.
In June, Dupuis withdrew her petition to be the girl’s guardian, which led to the Lussiers receiving custody.
Rollin said the Lussiers have filed papers to permanently adopt the child “and expect to receive an order of adoption in the near future.”
Rollin added: “Now (the girl) is with her new parents, and her life is great.”
HUGHES SPRINGS, TX (KLTV) - We’re learning more about the moments leading up to a murder-suicide in Cass county.
It happened around 7 P.M. Monday night in the 1400 block of East First Street in Hughes Springs.
Police say it appears Kandi Nolen’s estranged husband barged into her home, shot her, and then turned the gun on himself.
We were able to obtain the 911 call, which shows a domestic dispute quickly turn violent.
Here’s the verbatim of the entire 911 call that was provided to us:
Operator: Atlanta 911.
Kandi Nolen: Don’t you do it. Don’t you do it.
Operator: Atlanta 911.
Kandi Nolen: He’s trying to kill me. He’s got a gun.
Operator: Ma’am…ma’am…hold on please. Hold on.
Kandi Nolen: He’s got a gun.
Police say that’s when the line then went dead. But this quick, and terrifying exchange, was enough for police to get a location on the call.
When they arrived, the house was surrounded by people, several of those witnesses told us they heard the shots. Now, friends are reeling.
“I just heard this morning and it just killed my soul because she always just so bubbly,” said Deanna Burt, a friend, and local florist.
In front of the bank where Kandi Nolen worked, there’s a wreath placed in her memory.
“She was at the drive-thru for a long time so that’s the face we saw and I would put flowers for her through the drive thru slot and she was just precious,” said Burt.
Burt says she had known Kandi for about five years. She says they didn’t talk much about Kandi’s personal life.
“No, I had no idea,” said Burt. ”You would have thought she was the happiest person in the world. She never let on.”
Based on evidence at the scene, police say they believe Kandi’s estranged husband, Stan, shot her before turning the gun on himself.
A sign reading “we will miss you dear friend” was placed in front of Kandi’s house Tuesday morning. It shows just how much people cared about Kandi in her small community. Her friends say they never expected this act of violence to happen.
The crime even came as a surprise to the ring bearer at their wedding.
“You’d think nothing like this would have ever happen between them two if you knew them like we did,” said Brad Dooly, family friend. ”They were the sweetest people around here.
“I would have loved to have known. If I could have helped her in anyway I would have,” said Burt.
Kandi Nolen’s body was sent to Dallas for an autopsy. Funeral arrangements are still pending.
SOUTH JORDAN — The apparent murder-suicide attempt of a Riverton couple was still under investigation Tuesday, as South Jordan police continued to speak with family members to try to determine what happened.
A woman was found dead at the scene, and her husband remains in extremely critical condition and ended up being flown by medical helicopter to an area hospital and undergoing surgery following the botched attempt at South Jordan City Park.
The Riverton couple, both in their 40s, were shot in the head around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday outside a pavilion at the park near 11000 S. Redwood Road, said South Jordan Police Lt. Rob Hansen.
“We couldn’t get any vitals on the female. The male was breathing,” Hansen said.
Police found a small caliber handgun near the man and witnesses reported hearing two shots fired.
Prior to the shootings, two adults were sitting in a nearby pavilion when the couple walked in, sat down and began having a conversation. Witnesses said there was no indication the two were arguing.
“There were no red flags. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong,” Hansen said.
After the two got up to walk toward the parking lot, the two adults in the pavilion said they heard two gunshots a short time later. Hansen said they did not witness the shooting.
Police later said there were no obvious witnesses to the crime.
“Oddly enough, there was nobody else in the park at the time,” said South Jordan police Sgt. Elyse Charter.
Tuesday afternoon, a white sheet covered the woman’s body near a pine tree as investigators surveyed the crime scene. A nearby SUV was believed to belong to the couple. Hansen said detectives were looking at the vehicle’s registration to determine who owned it.
The investigation into the woman’s death is ongoing. No criminal charges had been filed as of Tuesday evening.
Investigators said last weekend that Moyer’s family appeared to
be suffering financial hardships that may have led him to his
decision to kill himself. And experts said that the decision to
kill himself likely led him to the decision to kill his wife, Irina
Geller, also known as Elizabeth Moyer, and his 7-year-old son
Dylan.
Police said that at some point Friday night, Moyer struck his
wife and son repeatedly in the head with a baseball bat until they
were dead. Irina was killed in bed, and then Moyer inexplicably
dragged her to the bathroom and laid a towel over her face,
authorities said. Dylan was also killed in his bed, police said.
The bloody baseball bat was found near the child. Moyer left a note
on the door to the home listing family members and phone numbers
for police to contact.
At 9:40 p.m., Moyer called 911 and told the dispatcher he’d
found his wife and son bludgeoned to death, District Attorney David
Heckler said. The dispatcher asked Moyer if he did it, and Moyer
said, “Yes.” Heckler described the conversation as calm and polite
and before hanging up, Moyer said, “Thank you.”
Three hours later he laid his head down on the train tracks that
cross Meadowbrook Avenue between Jacksonville and York roads in
Hatboro and waited until a SEPTA train killed him, police said.
Neighbors described Irina as friendly, but said she rarely left
the home. Other neighbors said years earlier when his son was
learning to walk they remember seeing Chris Moyer leading the boy
up and down the street. Dylan’s kindergarten and first-grade
teachers said he loved to read and had a great vocabulary. They
said he just finished first grade on Friday and had gone from
reading non-fiction children’s books to chapter books, like the
Magic Tree House series. His parents were both computer experts who
worked out of their home, according to neighbors.
Police said the father worked as a local attorney.
A Chula Vista man shot and killed his two sons, 13 and 15, set his home on fire, and then turned the gun on himself, police said Tuesday.
KNX 1070′s Tom Reopelle reports several suicide notes were recovered inside the house, but investigators said that a motive has not yet been determined.
DALLAS – DART bus riders at a bus stop witnessed a horrific scene Friday on the streets of Dallas. A domestic violence incident that turned deadly right in front of their eyes.
A second caller reported a man, fitting the same description from the shooting, carjacked him. Officers located the car on Tato Drive.
Dallas police started getting calls around 7:15 a.m. about the shooting.
As officers approached the resident where the car was located, they said they heard a gun shot inside the home.
SWAT was called in to assist.
Several hours later the man was discovered inside the home dead. Police said he killed himself. They have not released the names of the victims.
Lt. David Pughes with Dallas police says the couple had been in the car arguing when the woman tried to get away. They were married, but separated.
Saunders was involved in a long and bitter custody dispute with the boy’s mother, Meara McIntosh, after their marriage failed in 2006.
Meara McIntosh, with three-year-old son Colton, who was killed by his father in a 2008 murder-suicide. (Courtesy Meara McIntosh)A fatality inquiry in Drumheller heard Monday that police had received numerous complaints about an estranged husband who eventually killed his young son in a murder-suicide.
Zachary Erwin had shot his wife Amy and then himself in their home, perplexing and completely unexpected.
Really? a Pending divorce– despondent? Are people intentionally blind to the signs.. ? How about– he was such a nice guy– or they seemed oh – soooo happy?
Never mind we see that all the time in other articles.
The National Institute of Justice, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice dedicated to researching and understanding crime and justice issues, indicates that a prior history of domestic violence and a prior history of poor mental health or substance abuse are common characteristics found in cases of murder-suicide in families.
Cognizant of these standard warning signs, Zachary Erwin’s stepsister Jennifer Weston said she found his actions last week, in which police say he had shot his wife Amy and then himself in their home, perplexing and completely unexpected.
Nonetheless, a pending divorce was casting a cloud over the husband and father, Weston said, though she was unable to provide more information behind why the couple were splitting. He was no longer living in the home he was found in along with Amy, and he was despondent. “He was devastated by the divorce. … He was just sad and very concerned for their children.”
Dastardly Dads“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.” – Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel I am a KANSAS Domestic Violence Survivor– still trying to survive- still trying to keep my daughter safe myself alive after 15 brutal years in a system that ... Continue reading
Claudine Dombrowski
Battered Mothers - A Human Rights Issue 