Anatomy of a Murder-Suicide

Anatomy of a Murder-Suicide

I finally gave up hope of any of my tomatoes coming up. It just didn't seem to make sense. What happened to all those seeds I planted? Did I accidentally pull them up as weeds? I talked Darryl into buying me some plants that were further along the way in hopes to get some tomatoes this summer. I'd like to try making some sauce from scratch this year.

Today was an exciting day in the garden. My first yellow squash flower appeared in my garden. It was a thing of beauty and I can hardly wait to see those flowers become squash.

Any sweeper realizes that the end of the months sweeps is your longest day of sweeping. There is just so many to enter and so little time to do it. Add to that the whole blog thing, the garden, and well life in general and it adds up to a plate that's a little too full. I'm falling drastically behind in posting.

I wanted to post an update on that very sad murder-suicide that happened in Axton, Virginia. Murder-suicides are sad and frightening crimes, and we've seen several of them recently. Often the killers may transfer their anger and despair for their own life on to others. They feel like the loved ones maybe have not supported them well enough, have not done the things they were supposed to do, disappointed them in some significant way.

Two of the three people who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Axton over the weekend were shot in the head, and the third was shot in the torso, autopsy results reveal.

Dr. Christena Roberts, assistant chief medical examiner for the Western District of Virginia, said Monday that:

• William Ronald Carter Sr., 56, died of a penetrating shotgun wound to his head.

• His wife, Bonnie W. Carter, 56, died of a perforation of her heart, lung and aorta as a result of a shotgun wound to her torso.

• Their son, William Ronald Carter Jr., 29, of Danville, died of a penetrating shotgun wound to his head.

Roberts found that Carter Sr.’s manner of death was suicide, while Bonnie Carter and Carter Jr. died from homicide. Citing policy, she declined to discuss the autopsy findings further.

Investigators might never fully know what happened in the quadruple shooting incident, which was reported to the 911 Communications Center early Sunday at 210 Wilhaven Lane, Axton, Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry said Monday.

The Carters’ other son, Radford University student Timothy E. Carter, 22, also was shot in the incident but survived. He made some initial comments to police prompting them to think “there may have been some matters going on within the household,” said Perry.

The sheriff declined to elaborate. However, he said the Henry County Sheriff’s Office has no record of deputies responding to reports of violence or disturbances at the home.

Based on the lack of such a record, as well as what relatives and neighbors have told police about the family, he said the shootings seem “completely irrational and illogical.”

Timothy Carter was in fair condition late Monday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., a hospital spokesman said.

Investigators are waiting until he is stable enough from his injuries to answer questions as the investigation continues, Perry said.

Perry said he understands that Carter is “expected to recover from his wounds,” but doctors are not yet sure if he will lose any of his mobility. Carter was shot in the back, police have said.

Based on the results of their preliminary investigation, police said they think Carter Sr. shot and killed his wife and son Carter Jr. before shooting Timothy Carter, who was at the university and had received a call from his father to come home due to a family emergency.

When they arrived, officers found the house on fire, and authorities have said they determined the blaze was arson.

“It’s obvious there was some forethought” to the shootings and the fire, Perry said.

He indicated that the dead bodies could have been in the house for a few hours before police arrived.

Perry said a brief letter, apparently written by Carter Sr. and giving some “instructions” to whoever found it on how to handle funeral arrangements, was found in the home. He did not know exactly where.

The letter contained “nothing that offers an explanation” as to why the shootings occurred, he said.

“Without being able to interview all of the family members,” investigators may not be able to find out things going on in the household that may have led to the shootings, Perry said, referring to the family members who died.

When a suspect is alive during an investigation, “at least there’s a link ... to what took place,” he said. But in this incident, because Carter Sr. is dead, “what went through his mind is information we will never have.”

“There was nothing I could see” that indicated any disharmony in the home, said Bonnie Carter’s sister, Joyce Martin. Relatives “thought everything was fine.”

In fact, the couple had recently returned from a vacation in the mountains, she said.

After he was shot, Timothy Carter went to Akers’ house for help. Akers said that when she realized who was at her door, she let him in because “I wasn’t going to let him die on the porch.”

He told her about the shootings, and she called 911 and put a towel around his wounds to try and stop the bleeding, she said.

Although he was able to walk, Akers said, he was “just bleeding really bad” from his neck and his back, she recalled.

Martin and Akers said both relatives and friends are shocked at the shootings.

“Unfortunately we live in a day and age where we have stressors that can bring a person to suicide,” Perry said, referring to Carter Sr. “There must have been some type of stressors” that resulted in the shootings, but “we do not yet know what those stressors could have been.”

Carter Sr. worked at Goodyear in Danville until April 1, when he took a voluntary buyout and retired, company spokesman Jo Andrews told The Associated Press. Carter had worked for the tire plant for more than 35 years, the AP reported.

Perry said he hopes the investigation can be completed soon, but he would not say how soon that might be.

“We are moving on it as quick as we can while doing a thorough investigation,” he said.

Hi It's Billy Mays Here

Who doesn't recognize this famous greeting? He was the voice of OxyClean, Kaboom, Mighty Puddy, Awsome Auger, Mighty Mender and more.

Billy was on a US Airways flight Saturday June 27 that suffered a hard landing at Tampa International Airport. The resulting jolt caused items to fall from the overhead bins. It is known that a piece of luggage struck Mr. Mays in the head, but it is unknown if this incident was related to his death.

Are the fates sending me a message because Billy Mayes and Michael Jackson were both 50 when they died.

Here's another tragic family murder suicde. What do you want to bet that there were money problems going on here.

AXTON, Va. – A Virginia man fatally shot his wife and adult son and wounded another son before killing himself, authorities said Sunday. Their bodies were discovered in the basement of their burning home.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office said William Ronald Carter shot his wife, Bonnie, 56, and their 29-year-old son William Ronald Carter Jr. Sheriff Lane Perry said he wounded another son who was able to escape and then killed himself before authorities arrived at the burning home. The three bodies were discovered shortly after midnight at the home in Axton, in southwestern Virginia.

The sheriff's office said in a news release that 22-year-old Timothy Carter told investigators that his father, who was 56, lured him into the basement and shot him as he was walking down the steps. He was shot a second time as he tried to escape and was in fair condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Timothy Carter called police and when deputies arrived, the house was on fire and it is being investigated as arson, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies recovered a rifle from the scene.

Neighbor Deborah Akers told FOX8 News that Timothy Carter came beating on her door saying, "somebody's after me, my dad's after me to shoot me."

She said she let him in and called 911.

"When he got inside, he said his dad had killed his mother and oldest brother and that he had trapped him," said Akers.

"I've known them my whole life, even when I was in school," she said of the family "They've always been such nice, Christian people. Good people."

Police did not release a motive.

Darryl Interviewed Today

Today was the big day. Darryl had to go to downtown Atlanta for his interview. I knew that the morning was going to be about a presentation and that the actual interview wouldn't be until the afternoon. I didn't start worrying until about 1 o'clock or so.

When he had left this morning I was so confident. I felt we had rehearsed his answers enough that they sounded natural as opposed to rehearsed. Still I was freaking out by 4 o'clock.

He called about 4:30 to tell me he was on his way home and when he got home he told me he felt he did pretty well. He had a set time for his interview but he went to the interview room five minutes early. The interviewers told him they needed a break and for him to come back in about five minutes. He did and then when he was interviewing someone knocked at the door and they told that person to give them another fifteen minutes. I felt that was a good sign. They should let him know tomorrow if he's going on to the next level, which would be a tour of the company.

Once again I should feel lucky instead of sad when we are living so frugally. There was another murder suicide that involved a couple deep in debt. This happened about a mile or two from where my sister Mary lives in Florida.

HEATHROW - The family of four killed in an apparent murder-suicide in this gated community was deep in debt and struggled for five years to get out, according to records filed in federal bankruptcy court.

John Dillon Wood, 41, and Cynthia Wood, 40, declared bankruptcy in 2004 and tried for years to pay back money they owed, including more than $100,000 in credit-card bills. As of March, documents show, the Wood family still owed $85,000 to a list of creditors.

On Monday, the Woods and their two children, Aubrey, 12, and Dillon, 10, were found dead inside their home on Trentwood Court in the Lakeside subdivision. A preliminary investigation shows John Wood shot and killed his entire family, Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said.

"It's a huge tragedy. There's no other way to describe it," Eslinger said A cleaning lady entered the home before noon and discovered John  Wood shot in the head, sheriff's Capt. Dennis Lemma said. She called authorities, who found the other bodies in the home.

Investigators said family members were last seen Friday. A black Jeep and a blue Ford Expedition parked outside the house had not moved since then, Lemma said.

No suicide note had been found as of late Monday. Deputies noted that the family had financial troubles.

Neighbor Ed Evans said John Wood had worked for the Lowe's home-improvement chain but more recently had a job with Dick's Sporting Goods in Melbourne. Employees at Dick's said they couldn't comment, and a telephone message left at the corporate office was not returned.

Cynthia Wood recently lost her job, said Evans, who described the Woods as a "nice couple."

The family wrestled with financial troubles for years before the shootings, according to papers filed in federal court. John Wood had worked more than 16 years for Lowe's, earning $183,000 as a store manager in 2003, but he and his wife filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy the following year.

The couple had racked up more than $100,000 in credit-card debt. They also owed $228,000 on two mortgages on their home and loan for their 2002 Toyota Highlander, the documents state. John Wood was listed as unemployed, but how he lost his job was not explained.

A bankruptcy trustee put the couple on a plan to repay their debt, but they failed to make payments. In December 2007, the case was converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy: liquidation of assets. A status hearing was set for August.

Although $100,000 is a lot to owe on credit cards, Orlando bankruptcy attorney Anne-Marie Bowen said such steep debt is increasingly common. Sometimes people use their credit cards to pay large medical bills, or lose their jobs and fail to reduce their living expenses. Interest and fees add up, and the debt grows out of control.

"I'll ask my clients what they bought, and most people don't have anything to show for it," Bowen said.
Debt rarely leads to violence or suicide, Bowen said, because even if people lose their home through Chapter 7 bankruptcy, once the process is finished, almost all of the debt disappears and they get a fresh start.

"For someone to do that [kill your family], you can't be in your right state of mind," Bowen said.

Despite the Woods' financial troubles, the family lived well. John Wood owned a motorcycle, and the family had a boat that got used often, neighbor Evans said.

"The kids were just wonderful," he said.

Property records show the Woods' nearly 3,000-square-foot home built in 1999 was valued at almost $330,000.

Aubrey attended Markham Woods Middle School, and Dillon went to Heathrow Elementary, according to a family friend.

Until about a year ago, they took lessons at Champion Karate.

"The kids were normal, fun, vivacious kids," said Mike Friedman, owner of the karate school. "I can't imagine what it would take for that guy to do something like that."

Sydney Boughan, 12, attended Markham Woods Middle with Aubrey, and was planning to go to her house for a sleepover. Aubrey was a freckled, dark-blond girl who always had a pencil or paper to loan to her friends.

"She was the kind of friend you could rely on," Sydney said.

Aubrey, a cheerleader, went to Shine Athletics, a Longwood cheerleading gym, and was trying to learn back handsprings, Sydney said. Each weekend, Aubrey's mother treated the girl to trips to the mall, although all the shopping annoyed Dillon.

Cynthia Wood gave Aubrey quilted Vera Bradley bags, and on special occasions, dresses from Saks Fifth Avenue.

"She always seemed, like, perfect," Sydney said.

The last time Sydney heard from Aubrey was a text message at 3:06 p.m. Friday. Aubrey wanted to talk, but Sydney was watching a movie. Sydney didn't hear from her again.

"I still can't believe it's real," she said.

As time goes by we may see more and more of these kinds of murders and that's incredibly sad.