"No Apparent Motive" In Death Of Three

"SALT LAKE CITY, UT — A man apparently shot his parents, then shot and killed himself inside a Federal Heights home.

"Salt Lake police are investigating the three deaths as apparent murders-suicide. A 73-year-old man and his 69-year-old wife were found dead in the basement of their home at 1475 E. Penrose Drive (150 North) on Friday. The couple's 35-year-old son was found dead nearby as well.

"Police were first contacted at about noon Friday by a concerned out-of-state family member who had been trying to reach her sister for about a week, said Salt Lake Police Lt. Melody Gray.

"Investigators responded to the neighborhood about 4 p.m. Friday and found the front door locked. They went around to an unlocked back door, knocked and shouted `police,` entered and saw blood on the main floor of the home, Gray said. Police searched the house and found the three bodies in the basement.

"`It appeared the son killed his parents and then killed himself,` she said.

"A gun was found at the scene. There was no obvious motive for the incident. Investigators were canvassing the neighborhood trying to determine what may have provoked the shootings."

From Deseret News...

Divorce Drives Woman Over The Edge

"SAN ANTONIO, TX - A woman and her two children were found dead inside a home on the Far West Side Friday morning.

"Emergency crews were called to a home in the 12,000 block of Gable Oaks shortly before 7:00 a.m.

"News 4 WOAI was told deputies were called by a man who told them he and his wife were going through a divorce and that she had threatened to kill herself. When a deputy arrived at the home, he discovered it was on fire. A short time late, the bodies of a woman and two children were found inside.

"Investigators said all three had been shot to death. The two children, ages 8 and 9, were both found in their beds in an upstairs room. Their mother was found on the floor nearby.

"Officials later identified the woman as Sheena Griffin. Her husband, Richard Griffin, is active military. The couple were apparently arguing on the phone Friday morning when she threatened suicide. Richard Griffin, who was in Killeen preparing to deply to Afghanistan, immediately called emergency crews in Bexar County and began driving back to his home.

"The fire was contained to the downstairs area of the home. Officials said the fire appeared to have been purposely set in numerous places on the first floor.

"Investigators are working the case as a double murder-suicide, but are not ruling anything out. A handgun was found at the scene."

From WOAI.com...

"A Relationship Gone Bad"

"BEREA, NC - The body of the owner of the Munching Marvin's grill and the body of her boyfriend were found early Wednesday afternoon inside the business off U.S. 158 at the Berea community in rural western Granville County after a murder-suicide, Sheriff Brin Wilkins said.

"`It's just a relationship gone bad,` Wilkins said of the deaths of the owner, Susie Hale Gross, 50, and her companion, Daniel Tyson Matthews, 26.

"Wilkins said that Matthews used a handgun to shoot Gross before turning the firearm on himself. Wilkins said that the bodies were found on the kitchen floor.

"The bodies will undergo autopsies by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at Chapel Hill, Wilkins said. The death of Gross is the first homicide in the county's jurisdiction this year, Wilkins said.

"The Sheriff's Department sealed off the eatery and the adjacent residence owned by Gross, where Matthews also had lived. Department personnel could be seen removing boxes of items from the house.

"Matthews helped out at the business and Gross was separated from her husband, Wilkins said.

"Authorities received the call shortly after 1 p.m., with Wilkins saying a Budweiser beer delivery man drove up, found the back door open and discovered the bodies.

"Wilkins said the eatery's opening time customarily was not until approximately 4 p.m.

"Wilkins, when asked how the relatives of Gross and Matthews responded to his telling them what had happened, said, `Everybody was shocked, heartbroken.`

"Gross' mother lives in the Rocky Mount area and Matthews was from Granville County, Wilkins said. `Both of them, they are good folks,` with good family members, Wilkins said.

"`It's a sad thing to happen here in the community,` Wilkins added, noting Berea is a tightly-knit place.

"The eatery has a page on the social networking Web site Facebook. It was briefly mentioned as one of the local favorite places in a Time Warner Cable-produced video about the quality of life in the county."

Source: heraldsun.com...

Stalker, Victim Dead

"HICO, WV - Fayette County Sheriff's Deputies said Rebecca Sue Crawford, 34, of Victor was inside a pick-up truck in the parking lot of Sherrie's Video Lottery Parlor on Route 60 in Hico when she was shot in the head with a shotgun.

"Deputies said Gary Dennis Cole, 48, of Victor fled the scene and turned the gun on himself in Nicholas County.

"Crawford had an active domestic violence petition against Cole.

"`This individual had apparently been stalking the female and this was pre-meditated. he intended to kill her,` said Lieutenant Jim Sizemore.

"Crawford was flown to Charleston Area Medical Center, but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

"Both Crawford and Cole's bodies have been taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies."

From WOWKTV.com...

Screaming Led Police To Gruesome Scene

"WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — An 84-year-old man who fatally shot his 73-year-old wife before turning the gun on himself died today, authorities said.

"The shooting was reported at 7:47 p.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of North Kings Road, near Melrose Avenue, in West Hollywood, said Deputy Guillermina Saldana of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

"Deputies responding to a call reporting a `person screaming` found the woman suffering from a gunshot wound, Saldana said.

"Deputies checked the apartment for suspects and found the man suffering from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, she said.

"Both victims were taken to a hospital, where the woman died. The man, who was in grave condition early today, died tonight, Saldana said.

"An investigation was continuing, but preliminary reports indicate the incident was a murder-suicide, Saldana said.

"The victims' names were being withheld pending notification of their families."

From Southern California Public Radio...