Incidents of killings in child custody disputes
Feb 7, 2012, 9:12 PM
(AP) – Incidents of a parent killing his or her child or children in a custody dispute include:
_ December 2011: In Gargatha, Va., five people, including two children, were found dead in a mobile home. Police believe the father of the children was involved in a custody hearing with the mother and shot the others and then himself.
_ December 2009: A woman who died with her two young daughters and her mother from gunshot wounds in a murder-suicide had just learned she’d temporarily lost custody of her children. The home was in an upscale neighborhood in San Clemente, Calif.
_ May 2009: In Bardstown, Ky., a father fatally shot his 21-month-old son and then himself. He had been involved in a custody dispute with the child’s mother for months, a relative said.
_ March 30, 2008: In Baltimore, Md., a father drowned his three young children, ages 2, 4 and 6, at a hotel room, then called the front desk to report their deaths. An online search of state court records showed he and his wife were involved in a child custody dispute.
_ March 18, 2008: Employees of Fort Stevens State Park in Warrenton, Ore., found a 10-year-old boy with his father in a murder-suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning in the father’s van. Police said the father had been in a custody battle with his wife.
_ Thanksgiving 2007: A Frederick, Md., man fatally shot his ex-wife, their three children, ages 6, 10 and 12, and then himself during a custody hand-off in a small town park.
_ September 2007: A Wausau, Wis., mother fatally shot her 11-year-old son, then took her own life. The police were present, trying to resolve a custody dispute with her husband.
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Compiled by Associated Press news researcher Rhonda Shafner.
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