"Quiet, Kind, Gentle" Man Kills Entire Family, Self

"FT. MYERS, FL — A man called quiet, kind and gentle by neighbors shot and killed his wife and three daughters before turning the gun on himself in an apparent murder/suicide Sunday morning, police say.

"Residents of the middle-class San Carlos Park neighborhood were shocked when they awoke Sunday to find Lee County Sheriff’s Office cars blocking their streets and deputies and detectives asking questions.

"Laurie Gretten lives across from the murder/suicide scene on 17372 Phlox Drive and said there had been a party at the home overnight that was rather loud.

"`Around 2 a.m. the music was turned up as high as it would go, and I was about to call the cops when it suddenly cut off,` she said. She added she heard no gunfire and did not know anything was amiss until two Lee sheriff’s detectives knocked on her door.

"Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott came to the scene Sunday afternoon to provide details.

"Scott said a Spanish-speaking man called the sheriff’s office at approximately 2:25 a.m. Sunday. Scott did not release details of the call.

"`Our deputies found a horrific and unthinkable scene here,` he said, adding that it was one of the worst he has seen. `In essence, a mass killing,` he said.

"The sheriff said deputies believe the three girls ages 2 to 10 and the mother were executed. `And then the father, we believe the evidence leads us to believe at this point, the father then was the final death in taking his own life.`

"The sheriff said that the oldest girl was Medina’s stepchild.

"`It was an absolutely horrific set of circumstances,` he said."

Source: Detroit Free Press...