Strangler Spares Kids Before Shooting Himself

"EVERGREEN, AL — A 34-year-old man shot himself to death Sunday outside Evergreen after police said he choked his wife with an electrical cord and left with the couple’s two children.

"Randy Jackson Etheridge was pronounced dead at the scene at a house off Conecuh County Road 8, according to Evergreen Chief detective Sean Klaetsch.

"Etheridge’s wife, Whitney, 30, was revived by CPR on the way to a hospital in Evergreen and was airlifted to University of South Alabama Medical Center, where she died Tuesday, Klaetsch said.

"The children, a 2-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, were found safe inside a home near where their father died, Klaetsch said.

"Police first got a call about a choking at the couple’s home on Morgan Lane in Evergreen at 9:52 a.m. Sunday, and upon arriving they found relatives trying to revive Whitney Etheridge, according to Klaetsch.

"Evergreen police were told that Randy Etheridge had just left with the children, and Conecuh County sheriff’s deputies and Alabama State Troopers joined police in the search that led them to the home on County Road 8. Klaetsch said the husband was dead in the backyard when they arrived.

"The children have been placed with relatives, he said. "

From al.com...