I have posted before about how I personally know an abnormal number of murderers and murder victims just based on where I grew up. Most of them weren’t that surprising because they were involved in violent crime but this one is completely different.
One of my good female friends went on vacation to Mexico this past week. I saw the photos of her, her husband and their two beautiful daughters having a great time while they were there. They flew back to Louisiana and somehow things went terribly wrong shortly after that. One of their daughters found both of her parents dead at home yesterday, July 11th. Early indications are that the husband killed her and then himself for some undetermined motive.
This one strike me especially hard. She was like a big sister to me in high school. She took many classes including drivers ed with me, advised me on things and was a really great person all around. I didn’t hear from her for years but then we reconnected on Facebook even though we lived very far apart. Every time there was something in the news about the Boston area, she would write and make sure that me and my family were OK. She had a new and promising career as a surgical nurse and was one of the most positive people I have ever met and I don’t mean that lightly.
Some things you can see foreshadowing for but I could have never have guessed this would be possible based on what I see in the photos from just a few days ago. The whole family was taking photos on the beach for one of their dream vacations and now both parents are dead with no explanation given so far even if there could possibly be such a thing. Their two beautiful daughters are on their own with no warning.
I have no message for such a thing other than hold the ones you love tightly.
**Names are still being withheld at the request of the family and law enforcement because it is still a new case.
I never met him in person. She did tell me about him a few times. It was always positive. That is the scary thing. You can never tell what is going on behind closed doors.
Believe it or not, this is the 3rd murder suicide of that type that I have been through but it is by far the worst. The first was one I was a little kid and my babysitter got killed by her husband who then killed himself. I knew it was terrible at the time but it didn’t affect me all that much because my parents downplayed it. The other was much more recent. She actually has a Louisiana law named after her “Gwen’s Law” to protect spouses of domestic violence from extreme danger. Gwen’s ex-husband kidnapped his ex-wife at his daughter’s day care as she was doing the pickup and then killed her down the road before he killed himself. The young daughter was left in the safety of the day-care workers that prevented him from taking her as well.
Th other really bad thing is that Gwen’s sister, a friend and classmate of mine, is now an activist that fights to stop such things from happening again and she is also a good friend of the woman who was just killed so she is especially devastated by it. However, the big difference here is that the others had a history of severe domestic violence that was well-known. This one seemed to have come from nowhere. I suppose it is remotely possible that that someone broke in and killed them both for some unknown reason but that isn’t the direction things are going.
Sorry to hear of your loss. It must be particularly difficult on the folks who interacted with the family frequently. Not seeing any signs, not being able to help. That must be tough.
I live in south Louisiana outside New Orleans (north of the lake). Of course I hear about the goings on in N.O. all the time. I have no idea what goes on up in the northwest…
It seems a strange and different kind of place based on the descriptions you have posted. Shreveport kind of pops up in the middle of many miles of flat country, and I guess that isn’t the only thing different about the area.
I will. Everyone is still baffled about what the motive could have been. It doesn’t make any sense. Law enforcement are just fairly sure it was a murder-suicide based on the scene but autopsy results are still pending.
Horrible. I’m so sorry,** Shagnasty**. My heart goes out to you and the girls, as well as the other people so affected by this. I hope they can figure out what on earth happened.
I’m terribly sorry for the loss of your friend in such an awful and violent way. I’ll keep the daughters in my thoughts and prayers - they must be so very sad and so confused.
They are late teens/very early twenties. It is horrible but at least they are old enough to be mostly self-sufficient and they weren’t there to witness the actual crime. They got to spend a week with their parents on vacation directly beforehand if you can count microscopic blessings in a situation like this. If it is confirmed to be a murder-suicide, I can’t imagine how they are going to feel about their father forever.
I don’t know what to say to the family although I have been trying to be as neutral as possible and sending good messages about memories of her. They are having a double funeral and burial. I have absolutely no idea what people are supposed to do when someone murders their supposedly beloved wife and then kills himself. That has to be the hardest job a member of the clergy has to work out for a funeral ceremony. The family members also have a really hard job to remain civil to his side of the family while keeping the overall well-being of their daughters in mind. I have been through some bad situations before but that very unusual one trumps almost all human imagination.
They had the double funeral and burial today. I couldn’t go because I am about 2,000 miles away and everything happened so fast. I sent personal condolences to her family and close friends individually. There is still no word on what exactly happened and why. Her little sister has been remarkably positive about her now deceased brother-in-law even though all indications are that he caused the whole mess. Law enforcement is being very careful not to announce any findings until they are truly sure because it is such an odd case. They will only say that it is a likely murder-suicide.
One thing that has been remarkable is that everyone has abided by the family’s wishes and kept it all neutral and supportive on social media. Only one person even acknowledged it was a murder at all in passing early on even though everyone knows that it is because it was covered on many news outlets. I wouldn’t expect that type of civility from just any random group of people and that shows grace that I am not sure that I would have if it was my close family member. The investigation findings will be released but it will take time. Until then, everyone is just being as kind as possible to the remaining victims - their daughters and other family members.
