Six people murdered Christmas eve

In the small town of Carnation, about 25 miles from Seattle, a daughter and her boyfriend shot her parents, sister, brother-in-law and a neice and nephew. (news story)

The two returned to the site while police were there and confessed. The local paper interviewed the man, who said they were like family to him… :confused:
Both of them shot the parents, then the man shot the sister’s family, including the two children.

The reason the woman gave was that the family didn’t appreciate her, even though she and the boyfriend lived on the parents’ property.

How…Why… I can’t even form the questions, I’m so appalled.

Well, at least we know that the daughter is “bearing up well”, according to her public defender. I suppose now that she’ll throw herself on the mercy of the court because she’s an orphan. :rolleyes:

These last few days I’ve been hoping to hear that the murderers were druggies. It’s the only thing that can explain how they could do something so messed up. Kill a 2- and a 6-year-old because they could be witnesses? On Christmas eve, when they were all excited about Santa bringing them presents? That’s so seriously nuts I can’t imagine anyone doing that unless they were out of their minds on meth or something equally bad. Yet I’m not hearing anything about drugs or alcohol or even any mental issues. Just that the woman didn’t feel appreciated by her family. Who here hasn’t felt that from time to time? Sheesh!

The first report I heard said they didn’t suspect drug involvement.

I just got done reading the latest update on one our local television news websites.

You know, I was horrified and extremely saddened when I first heard about this. The horror kept growing, but after reading the latest article, I was trying to hold back the tears. The article covered the whole sequence of events that occurred that evening, to include what those poor folks’ last words and actions were. There should be a special place in Hell for those two.

The story was big here, too, for the horror and the proximity. It’s beyond my comprehension. What can I say? Murdering children on Christmas Eve… it makes my brain hurt.

And my heart.

Here is a more detailed story.

Sounds like mental illness probably was a factor in this after all (not surprisingly!).
I wonder why nobody did anything when she apparently had already talked about killing her father.

Would you have taken her seriously? I probably wouldn’t have, depending on the circumstances.

Very sad.

A very late nomination for non-sequitur of the year.

Seriously, what does the second sentence have to do with the first? Would it have been better if the kids were killed in June?

Seriously, would it have been worse to just let people express their thoughts and emotions regarding a tragedy without making snide remarks intended solely to make yourself look superior at someone else’s expense? :rolleyes:

Not snide, nor intended to make me look superior. I just do not understand why the imminent arrival of Santa has any bearing whatsoever on the nature of this tragedy.

I guess it’s possible that the last thing that went through young Olivia’s mind after seeing her parents shot to death was “I wonder if Santa will still come this year.” But i doubt it.

A lot of help that was.

Yay! I may be a winner! When is the awards ceremony?

Seriously, I’m empathizing here. There’s not many times of the year when a child feels more excitement anticipating what is to come than on Christmas Eve. To take those kids from that height of excitement and suddenly plunge them into the depths of sheer terror in that manner makes the killers seem more cold-heartedly evil and and the situation more tragic than if it had happened in June even though they are both terrible situations.

To most people (and you must be the exception, mhendo), certain details make things have more emotional impact.

Kid dies of disease–sad
Kid dies of disease on his/her birthday–sadder
Kid dies of disease for which a cure is imminent–saddest

It might not make “sense” but it is pretty human. The kid is dead in all cases, but some are sadder. The Christmas eve aspect of this is the same–to die at a time that is supposed to be “for the kids” and a really happy time is an emotionally gut-wrenching detail.

Well, at least you’re not being snide.

Seriously, though…is it really so difficult to understand how tragedies can seem worse depending on the circumstances? People often find it somewhat more tragic when someone is “cut down” in the prime of their life, or when a person of exceptional talent and promise dies prematurely and is therefore denied the wonderful life that seemed to lie before them. My guess is that Tikki’s response is in the same kind of vein.

Now does this make sense in cold, logical terms? Probably not, but it’s certainly common in caring, empathetic and emotional terms.

Some circumstances, yes.

But when two toddlers watch their parents killed, and are then executed by close-range shots to the head, the fact that it happens to be Christmas is so insignificant that it is not even deserving of a mention.

I understand why the reference was made, but the awfulness of the crime itself is so great as to make the reference completely pointless.