Who failed Nicholas Mavrakis and his family?

When you read this story, notice that it was known he had PTSD and had been deployed multiple times. The last listed deployment was in 2008. The question is, why didn't he get the help he needed to heal during all these years back home?

Did the Army fail him? Did the VA fail him? Did all the suicide awareness groups out there fail him? The truth is, they all did and so did the rest of us!

Greek-American Man Suffering from PTSD Kills Family in Murder/Suicide
Greek Reporter
Patricia Claus
June 25, 2021

The Greek-American man had served in the U.S. Army from April 1993 through July 2013 and retired as a staff sergeant according to US Department of Defense records. He had been deployed to Afghanistan from January 2002 to July 2002, and served in Iraq twice, from February 2003 to February 2004 and then again from September 2007 to November 2008.

Nick Mavrakis and his family. Mavrakis shot and killed his own family on Father’s Day in a murder/suicide. Credit: Facebook/Nick Mavrakis

Nicholas Mavrakis III, of Jackson Township, outside Canton, Ohio, allegedly shot and killed his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself in a murder/suicide on Father’s Day.

The shocking incident took place at the family home in Jackson Township, five miles from Canton, Ohio according to police and local media reports.

The Greek-American man was a U.S. Army veteran who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Local police, in a post on Facebook, reported that Mavrakis, along with his wife Lesley Mavrakis, 37, and children Ace Mavrakis, 13, and Pippa Mavrakis, 5, “were found dead shortly after 4 PM Sunday in their home.”
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Deputy and family lives lost to murder-suicide

update
He was ‘Officer of the Year.’ Then Hillsborough deputy killed his family and himself

Sheriff Chad Chronister said the deputy killed his daughter and granddaughter at one home and his wife at another. Then Deputy Terry Strawn committed suicide outside Plant City High School.

Deputy kills family then self, despite colleagues' pleas

FOX 13 News
December 19, 2018

Deputies have since identified the victims as Strawn's 54-year-old wife Theresa and the couple's granddaughter, 6-year-old Londyn, who lived with them. Strawn also killed his daughter, 32-year-old Courtney Strawn, at her home.

PLANT CITY, Fla. (FOX 13) - A veteran Hillsborough County deputy killed three family members, including his granddaughter, then broadcast a heart-wrenching radio message to his colleagues before ultimately killing himself, Sheriff Chad Chronister announced this morning.

With "an extremely heavy heart," the sheriff recounted the sequence of events that ultimately ended with the suicide outside Plant City High School.

According to Chronister, it was just after 6:30 a.m. when Deputy Terry Strawn spoke up on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office main radio channel to say that he had "caused harm to his family," provided details about two crime scene locations, and then said he planned to commit suicide at the school.

As the communications supervisor tried to talk Strawn out of it, three other deputies caught up to him outside the school. They, too, tried to intervene, but failed.

"Unfortunately the deputy took his own life on scene in front of the three deputies," the sheriff said.

If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The crisis center provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week to civilians and veterans. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text 741-741.

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#TakeBackYourLife you are worth fighting for!

Hot Yoga murder-suicide under investigation

Police identify suspected gunman and 2 people killed at hot yoga studio in Tallahassee

CNN
Hollie Silverman
November 3, 2018

"As we process the gut-wrenching act of violence that took place this evening in a place of peace in our community, we hold in our hearts everyone who is affected and lift them up in love," officials tweeted from the city's verified account.

(CNN)A gunman on Friday shot six people, two fatally, at a hot yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, police said.

The two people killed were identified as Nancy Van Vessem, 61, and Maura Binkley, 21, according to Tallahassee Chief of Police Michael DeLeo.

The suspect, Scott Paul Beierle, 40, of Deltona, Florida, died of a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound, DeLeo said.

One other person was pistol-whipped.

DeLeo said police were unable immediately to draw a connection between the suspect and the victims of the shooting.

Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a call about a shooting at Hot Yoga Tallahassee.
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Air Force veteran shot family and set fire to home

Air Force veteran kills himself after shooting wife, triplet daughters
Air Force Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
23 hours ago

An Air Force veteran killed himself after shooting his wife and three of their daughters in Alabama on Saturday, according to authorities.

An Air Force veteran in Alabama shot and killed his wife and one of their daughters.
(File photo)

Robert Orsi was upset after his wife, Charlene — who also served in the Air Force — filed for divorce, the Alabama News Network reported.

The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page that the divorce was over Robert Orsi’s alleged drug use.

Orsi allegedly shot and killed his wife under their carport, then went inside their home and lined up his 12-year-old triplet daughters on the floor to shoot them. One was killed, but two survived.

Orsi’s 13-year-old daughter escaped and called 911 from a neighbor’s house, according to WEAR-TV.

After the shootings, Orsi doused the home with gasoline and set it on fire, but he didn’t see that two of his 12-year-old daughters made it out of the house, even with multiple gunshot wounds. The third 12-year-old was found dead in the house, along with Orsi.
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Veterans Living With PTSD React to Pathway Shooting

Yountville Shooting Leaves An Impact On Veterans Living With PTSD
CBS San Francisco
March 12, 2018

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – A U.S. veteran killed three staff members at a veterans’ facility in Napa County, raising the question: are veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder getting the help they need when they come home?

The triple homicide happened in Yountville in Napa County on Friday. But on Monday, 100 miles away on the other side of the San Francisco Bay Area, a group session was held for veterans with PTSD in San Jose.

Counselors at the veterans housing facility in San Jose gave extra attention to veteran’s feelings and their fears because the Yountville shootings happened in a very similar setting.

“Our first priority is to make sure that you’re okay,” a counselor asked a room full of veterans. “How many of you were affected this weekend?”

“Did anybody get triggered just by watching it and just by the fear that was going on?” a counselor asked the veterans in San Jose.

One veteran answered: “Yes. I fell into another depression. It triggered me going back 40 years and I have been crying since that time.”

We sat down with U.S. veteran Thomas MacGowan, a Vietnam vet with PTSD, who agreed to talk about his feelings.

“I was scared that it was going to happen here,” MacGowan said. “I felt safe in a sense, but my immediate reaction was: do I want to run or do I want to stay and fight? How’s everybody else doing around here?”
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Pathway House Victims Include Pregnant Newlywed

UPDATE

The Pathway Home permanently closing Yountville space after fatal shooting

“As we continued to evaluate our short-term and long-term future, it just became more and more clear that would not go back into our facility at the Veterans Home,” he said Sunday. “That also would have an impact on our certification as a nonprofit, because the the facility has to have specific criteria to hold this treatment facility. (Furthermore), people can imagine the emotional and psychological impacts of losing our three friends and colleagues; to this day it weighs heavy on us as a board and as a staff.  

“We feel the best way we can move forward now is to support other nonprofits, either private nonprofits or federal and state VA organizations, who are providing similar services. We can shift our focus to supporting those efforts and advocating for veterans in other communities.”

read more here

Veterans home workers remembered as devoted caregivers
Associated Press
Frank Baker
March 10, 2018

"Jennifer and her colleagues died doing the work they were so passionate about — helping those in critical need," her husband, T.J. Shushereba said in a statement. "Jennifer was adored by all who knew her and will always be remembered for her unconditional love and incredibly giving heart."

After a work conference, Maura Turner was looking forward to a girls' weekend with her close friend, Christine Loeber, a social worker and executive director of The Pathway Home that treats veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Christine Loeber, a victim of the veterans home shooting on Friday, March 9, 2018 in Yountville, Calif, as seen in September 2012. Loeber was executive director of the Pathway Home, a treatment program for veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. TOM TURNER/AP

Turner went to Loeber's home in Yountville, California, on Friday and found the door locked. Soon after, she heard about a shooting and apparent hostage situation at the nearby veterans home where Pathway is located. And then came the devastating realization her friend was among the three women being held.

She called her husband, Tom Turner, in Dedham, Massachusetts.

"We heard the guy was a former patient and so I thought that was a positive," he said in a telephone interview Saturday with The Associated Press. "I figured he had to like her."

This undated photo provided by Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services shows The Pathway Home Clinical Director, Dr. Jennifer Golick, a victim of the veterans home shooting on Friday, March 9, 2018, in Yountville, Calif. Dr. Golick was killed by a former patient at The Pathway Home, a treatment program for veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. MUIR WOOD ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY SERVICES VIA AP

Friends and co-workers remembered Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, 32, as a "brilliant" psychologist who was committed to both her family and her job treating veterans with post-traumatic stress.

Gonzales Shushereba was seven months pregnant. She was married a year ago and was supposed to travel to Washington, D.C., with her husband this weekend to celebrate their anniversary, family friend Vasiti Ritova said.
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Who was Albert Wong?

Who was Albert Wong? Here is what we know so far about Yountville shooter
Sacramento Bee
Ed Fletcher
March 10, 2018

Albert Wong, left, pictured in one of his Facebook photos before his page was removed Friday. Facebook

The gunman in Friday's deadly hostage standoff at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville has been identified by the Napa County Sheriff's Office as Albert Wong, 36, of Sacramento.

The Bee is continuing to investigate Wong and his Sacramento ties. Here is what we know so far:

Wong was an infantryman in the US Army and served in Afghanistan from April 2011 to March 2012, according to information provided by the Army.

During his service he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal and campaign stars for fighting global terrorism and for marksmanship.

read more here

Congress funded deadly PTSD program

Blame Congress for Deaths at Pathway House

Combat PTSD Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

March 10, 2018

Last night, the trigger was pulled at Pathway House. Three women, who dedicated their lives to help veterans recover from PTSD, were dead. A veteran, who dedicated part of his life to the Army, is dead and will be remembered as a murderer. 

Afghanistan veteran Albert Wong, will not be remembered for his service. He will not be remembered for seeking help for PTSD. No one will remember that he had not just been trained to use weapons, he was also trained, in what he was told, would make him "resilient" against what combat could do to him. How do I know? Because every member of the military has been told the same thing.

May 29, 2009 post was titled "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness will make it worse" along with this predication,

"If you promote this program the way Battlemind was promoted, count on the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides to go up instead of down. It's just one more deadly mistake after another and just as dangerous as sending them into Iraq without the armor needed to protect them."

In this case, as with most of the deadly outcomes, I'm sick to my stomach knowing I was right. All the people in charge of this clusterfuck have been wrong all along.

By 2012 I knew I had to figure out why this was still going on. Why was it still being funded? Why was it being pushed on every member of the military? 

I tracked down reports on who was benefitting from it and laid it all out in The Warrior SAW, Suicides After War and the money was in the billions.

This so-called "resilience" training was not a proven program before the military bought it. It was a research project created to try to figure out how to give school aged children a better sense of self-worth. Yes, you read that right!

By 2013 RAND Corp, along with a lot of others, figured out that it was not working and offered warnings of their own.

In 2014 NBC News reported this 

Military Uses Unproven Mental Health Programs, Report FindsNBC NewsBY MAGGIE FOX
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars, as well as other service members and their families, have high rates of depression, anxiety and other disorders, yet the U.S. military isn’t using tested screening methods to help prevent them, a team of experts said Thursday. 

And despite extensive research, the panel of experts couldn’t find any proven Department of Defense programs to prevent domestic abuse. Programs to battle sexual assault — another documented problem — aren’t being assessed to see if they actually work, the Institute of Medicine panel reported. 

“A fundamental finding of the committee is that, with some notable exceptions, few of DOD’s prevention interventions are theory- or evidence-based,” wrote Kenneth E. Warner, a public health expert at the University of Michigan who headed the panel. 

One obvious example of an unproven and controversial approach is the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, which includes a mandatory online training program developed with the American Psychological Association, the report finds.

Last night, I was trying to get updates on the Pathway House shooting, but the 24-7 national news stations were too busy on political topics. It seems they have also been too busy reporting on politicians than doing any investigations into the outcomes of what they do.

Three women are dead, a veteran survived risking his life in Afghanistan, but ended up committing suicide after killing the women who tried to help him. 

Where are the conspiracy researchers on this? Where are the investigative reporters on this? Where are the Congressional hearings on this? What excuses do the Joint Chiefs offer when military suicides are still averaging 500 a year?

Is anyone being held accountable for any of this? 

Suspect in Murder-Suicide Sought Help

Brother: Gunman in murder-suicide near J'town battled PTSD
WAVE3 News
By Joey Brown, Digital Content Manager
Wednesday, March 23rd 2016

Brad Hettinger's obituary shows him in a military uniform and identifies him as Captain Brad Louis Hettinger. It states that he had served as captain of the 8-229th ARB Task Force Apache Flying Tigers overseas.

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The brother of a man who shot and killed his wife and two young children, and then torched their house before taking his own life on Sunday says in a written statement about the tragedy that Brad Hettinger had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder.

The statement, issued just after noon on Wednesday, reads in its entirety as follows:

"We as a family are devastated and deeply shaken by the events that have transpired. Brad Hettinger was an honorable, respectable, family centered man who believed strongly in his religious values, who served his country with valor, and who provided a nurturing and caring environment for his family. Before the events of March 20, Brad was actively seeking help for complications associated with PTSD while simultaneously attending marriage counseling with his wife. We ask the greater Louisville community to direct some of your prayers and thoughts toward the Gayheart and Hettinger families during this most grievous of times."
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Quantico Marine Corps Sued After Triple Killing on Base

Marine Base Blamed for Triple Killing
Courthouse News
By KATHERINE PROCTOR
February 1, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The Quantico Marine Corps base's failure to monitor a mentally ill sergeant allowed him to kill his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and himself in the barracks, the late woman's father claims in Federal Court.

Isaac Castro sued the United States on behalf of his late daughter Sara Castromata's estate, claiming the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. mishandled the medical records and weapons of Sgt. Eusebio Lopez.

Lopez, who had documented head trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, was transferred to Quantico, Va. from Camp Lejeune, N.C. in May 2012. Castro claims the Quantico base never obtained or reviewed Lopez's medical records, and that the sergeant stopped receiving treatment for his mental disability as a result.

Lopez moved into Quantico barracks in September 2012, but base command did not ensure that his weapons were registered and stored at the armory, Castro says. His weapons included a semi-automatic pistol, a shotgun and several large knives.
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4 Dead In Apparent Colorado Murder-Suicide

At Least 4 Dead In Apparent Longmont Murder-Suicide
By DAN ELLIOTT and STEVEN K. PAULSON
12/18/12

LONGMONT, Colo. -- Four people were found dead Tuesday in Colorado after a woman called police to report a shooting and was apparently shot to death while she was on the phone.

Weld County sheriff's spokesman Tim Schwartz says dispatchers heard the woman who called 911 scream "No, no, no," and then they heard a gunshot. Schwartz says a man grabbed the phone and said he was going to kill himself, and dispatchers heard another shot.

The bodies were found in a home in a subdivision east of Longmont, which is about 35 miles north of Denver.

The dead included two men and two women, including one who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s.

Schwartz says investigators have a possible motive for the shootings, but he refused to release details.
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New Jersey supermarket shooter tweeted about killing

Ex-Marine who killed 2, self at NJ supermarket tweeted about killing co-workers in 2009
By Associated Press
Published: August 31, 2012

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — Unhappy with his life as a Marine stationed in California, Terence Tyler posed a question three years ago on Twitter: “is it normal to want to kill ALL of ur coworkers?”

Struggling with depression, he left the Marines and recently started working at a supermarket in New Jersey.

On Friday morning, Tyler shot two co-workers and himself, police said. The 23-year-old, clad in desert camouflage gear, opened fire at a Pathmark store in Old Bridge Township, authorities said.

Authorities are investigating his motive, but family members said Tyler was discharged from the Marines two years ago after suffering from depression and had never gotten over his mother’s death about five years ago.
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also
New Jersey Pathmark Killings "everyone in the store was a target"

New Jersey Pathmark Killings "everyone in the store was a target"

UPDATE September 1, 2012 New Jersey supermarket shooter tweeted before killing

Ex-Marine Suspected in New Jersey Pathmark Killings
By KEVIN DOLAK
Aug. 31, 2012

Officials investigate the scene of a shooting at a Pathmark grocery store in Old Bridge, N.J., Aug. 31, 2012. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

The man suspected of killing two people early this morning at an Old Bridge, N.J., grocery store before shooting himself to death is a 23-year-old former Marine who worked at the grocery store for two weeks, according to the town's mayor.

The suspect left the Old Bridge shopping plaza at about 4 a.m. and returned to a Pathmark grocery store, having changed into camouflage clothing, Mayor Owen Henry said today. He was armed with an AK-47 and an automatic handgun when he entered the store, allegedly firing his weapon.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said the victims were "not specifically targeted; everyone in the store was a target."

"Two of the employees were shot and killed, the others were able to hide and escape," Kaplan said. There were two weapons that were found -- one was an AK-47 and there were multiple magazines that were found in the store and there was also a handgun."
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Jackson Kentucky gunman grew hostile, was being evicted

Ky. gunman grew hostile, was being evicted

By ROGER ALFORD and CHRIS TALBOTT
Associated Press Writers
JACKSON, Ky. (AP) -- For months, Stanley Neace had shown increasing hostility to his neighbors in rural eastern Kentucky, to the point his landlord started eviction proceedings. On Saturday, Neace snapped over how his wife cooked his eggs, and killed her and four others with a shotgun before shooting himself.

Neighbors in the roadside mobile home park said Neace stormed across several lawns in his pajamas and fired dozens of shots from a 12-gauge pump shotgun. When the rampage ended, Neace and his wife lay dead, along with the gunman's stepdaughter and three neighbors.

Trooper Jody Sims of the Kentucky State Police said Neace, 47, killed the five people in two mobile homes around 11:30 a.m., then went to his home and turned the gun on himself.

Neighbor Steve Smith saw the rampage from the window of his mobile home. When he walked outside, Smith said Neace took a shot at him but missed.

"He chased his wife around that Jeep shooting at her," Smith said, pointing to a SUV parked outside his mobile home. "I heard her screaming and running."

Sims said that when state police arrived about an hour after the gunfire began, they heard a single gunshot and found Neace's body on the porch in the unincorporated community of Mount Carmel in Breathitt County, which is home to about 16,000 people.
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Ky gunman grew hostile, was being evicted

Another National Guardsman in murder-suicide tied to PTSD

When I read the headline I thought it was about the story I posted yesterday and then the shock hit that this was another story. Six more deaths tied to combat and four of them never went. two children dead. Two Moms dead. Two National Guardsmen dead. Yesterday it was a Wisconsin National Guard soldier and today it is a post about a Hawaii National Guards soldier. Both of them were tied to PTSD and I sit here in total disbelief. So many still falling into the abyss when so many others have come out of the darkness into healing and I wonder why it is still happening.

Murder-suicide leaves 3 dead
A former guardsman shoots his ex-girlfriend, her daughter and himself

By Mary Vorsino


On Thursday night a distressed Kristine Cass called a friend and said she planned to file a temporary restraining order against the man who, just hours later, would fatally shoot her and her 13-year-old daughter, Saundra, before turning the gun on himself.

"I said, 'I am scared for you,'" said Linda Tsai, a close friend. "She said, 'I'm kind of scared, too.'"

The double murder-suicide happened at about 1:30 a.m. yesterday at 2009 Makiki St., shattering the early-morning calm of the residential neighborhood with a single shot, followed by a shout for help and as many as a half-dozen subsequent gunshots - all over a 10-minute period.

A neighbor said the intruder apparently bent the bars covering a panel of jalousies to enter the Cass home.

Friends identified the shooter as Clayborne Conley, a former Hawaii National Guardsman with a history of violent behavior and mental instability.

Conley was deployed with his Hawaii unit to Iraq in 2004, and friends said he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more of this here
Murder suicide leaves 3 dead

This is the link to the Wisconsin story.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Wisconsin National Guard Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, dogs and self
Wis. woman killed by husband was staying elsewhere The Associated Press

The Suicide Prevention Hotline has had over 2 million calls. Claims for PTSD have gone up and programs have sprung up across the country. The military has been trying to do what they can and change their attitude toward PTSD but that has not worked. What is worse in all of this is the National Guards and Reserves have even less than the regular military soldiers have in terms of mental healthcare and support services.

Now we have two more families and friends left wondering how it all got so bad that two Guardsmen are dead after taking their families with them. These are people who wanted to do more when they joined the Guard. These were not selfish people and they were willing to risk their lives for total strangers when they joined. So why isn't anyone asking why it is these same men decided to take the lives of people they loved when they came home from combat?

Friday, April 2, 2010

Apparent murder-suicide reported in Lawson
Apparent murder-suicide reported in Lawson
By St. Joseph News-PressFriday, April 2, 2010
LAWSON, Mo. — Law enforcement officers continue to investigate what appears to be a murder-suicide involving a recently returned veteran from Iraq.“At this time, we suspect that Alex C. Caton, 23, shot and killed his wife, Michelle, 22, wounded his father-in-law and then committed suicide,” said Brian LaFavor, Lawson chief of police. “We won’t know for certain until the autopsy results are in.”
The Ray County sheriff’s department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are assisting in the investigation. Mr. LaFavor said Mr. Caton was in the military and had recently returned from service in Iraq.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Family suspects PTSD in murder suicide of Iraq vet and wife
Family suspects PTSD in couple's murder-suicide03:22 PM PDT on Monday, August 31, 2009KREM.com / LEE STOLLREPUBLIC, WA. -- Family members say a young man suspected of killing his wife and then himself in an apparent murder-suicide in Republic may have suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after returning from Iraq.Jessica Armstrong and Chad Olson.Chad Olson, 21, and Jessica Armstrong were found shot to death in the home they shared with Olson's parents early Saturday morning.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Fort Hood Reservist and Iving Police Officer Kills Wife and Self
Irving police officer, wife found dead
WFAA-TV
Investigators say an Irving police officer murdered his wife while their two children were present in their Fort Worth home.
By DAVID SCHECHTER / WFAA-TV WFAA-TV FORT WORTH — Investigators say an Irving police officer murdered his wife while their two children were present in their Fort Worth home. Then, police say, the officer killed himself. The officer was a 36-year-old Army reservist currently on active duty at Fort Hood. Police were called to the 5300 block of Mineral Creek Drive shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday. A woman called police after finding the bodies of her sister and brother-in-law, police said.

Monday, February 18, 2008

When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly
When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly
Lizette Alvarez and Deborah Sontag
New York Times
Feb 17, 2008
February 15, 2008 - A few months after Sgt. William Edwards and his wife, Sgt. Erin Edwards, returned to a Texas Army base from separate missions in Iraq, he assaulted her mercilessly. He struck her, choked her, dragged her over a fence and slammed her into the sidewalk.As far as Erin Edwards was concerned, that would be the last time he beat her.Unlike many military wives, she knew how to work the system to protect herself. She was an insider, even more so than her husband, since she served as an aide to a brigadier general at Fort Hood.With the general’s help, she quickly arranged for a future transfer to a base in New York. She pressed charges against her husband and secured an order of protection. She sent her two children to stay with her mother. And she received assurance from her husband’s commanders that he would be barred from leaving the base unless accompanied by an officer.Yet on the morning of July 22, 2004, William Edwards easily slipped off base, skipping his anger-management class, and drove to his wife’s house in the Texas town of Killeen. He waited for her to step outside and then, after a struggle, shot her point-blank in the head before turning the gun on himself.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Airman kills his 2 kids then self
Divorced US Air Force computer expert kills his 2 young children, himself at base housing
The Associated Press
Published: February 27, 2008
A recently divorced airman who served with distinction in Iraq chased his ex-wife out of military housing with a pistol before killing his two young children and himself.Tinker Air Force Base officials on Wednesday identified Tech. Sgt. Dustin Thorson, a military computer expert, as the killer in the shootings Monday.

Friday, March 28, 2008
War Comes Home "The man I married died in Iraq"

"In the Spring of 2002, members of the elite Special Operations units began returning home from duty in Afghanistan. Within six weeks, four Army wives, and one soldier, would be dead.



On June 11, 2002, Sergeant First Class Rigoberto Nieves, who had returned from Afghanistan just two days earlier fatally shot his wife, Teresa, and then killed himself.

Master Sergeant William Wright strangled his wife Jennifer on June 29, 2002, and then buried her body in a shallow grave.


On July 9, 2002, Sergeant Cedric Ramon Griffin stabbed his estranged wife, Marilyn, 50 times and then set her house on fire.

On July 19, 2002, the same day as Master Sergeant Wright was arrested for the murder of his wife, Sergeant First Class Brandon Floyd shot his wife Andrea to death and then and then took his own life.

On July 30, 2002, Fort Bragg police arrested the wife of a major for shooting him in the head and chest while he slept. These homicides made national news, owing mainly to the number of deaths at Fort Bragg in a short period of time extreme prejudice with which the acts were committed. The incident also caused an increased awareness of post-deployment combat-related stress.

These are just some of the stories from my achieves. Too many stories of heartache that didn't need to happen and too many families left behind wondering what they could have done. Even more stories on suicides and attempted suicides all leaving families to wonder what they could have done and even more wondering why no one told them anything that could have helped.

We can think the VA and the DOD are better at doing what needs to be done and they are but the truth is, they are nowhere near where they need to be for their sake and the sake of their families.

Wisconsin National Guard Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, dogs and self

How do you read a story like this and not cry? Imagine being the Mom of April Oles-Magdzas going to visit the way she most likely did many times before, but instead of your granddaughter rushing to hug "Grandma" the house is silent because everyone in that house is dead. But don't stop there. Imagine your daughter was anticipating bringing another life into the family. Then imagine the kind of pain that must have lived in that house to cause the death of everyone in it including the family dogs.

Family, friends, fellow National Guardsmen, everyone these people knew will be in shock for a very long time and wondering why it happened. The police having to respond will hang onto the memories of what they walked into. The rest of the country should be asking the same thing. Why are combat veterans still reaching the point of no-return when they are back home and should be safely living out the rest of their lives in peace? Why are families still destroyed? Why are innocent people still paying the price of combat?

Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, self
By TODD RICHMOND (AP)

MADISON, Wis. — April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her Iraq war veteran husband became new parents.

But when Oles-Magdzas' mother showed up that day at the couple's home in Superior, she found the entire family dead of an apparent murder-suicide.

Superior police said Thursday that Matthew Magdzas, a 23-year-old Wisconsin National Guard soldier who earned a combat badge in the Iraq war, shot and killed his pregnant wife, their 13-month-old daughter Lila, and their three dogs before turning the gun on himself.

Investigators believe the killings occurred Tuesday afternoon, but like friends of the couple, they are still wondering why.

Police Capt. Chad La Lor told The Associated Press that Magdzas did not leave behind a suicide note, and that investigators have found no evidence the couple had money problems or was unduly stressed by the pending birth of their daughter. There was no indication either had been unfaithful.

La Lor said investigators plan to subpoena Magdzas' military medical records to see if he had complained of or been treated for signs of post traumatic stress disorder.

Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said the military can not disclose Magdzas' health records to the public.
read more here
Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife daughter self

Tenn. hostage situation ends in 4 dead

Tenn. hostage situation ends in 4 dead
Published: Aug. 25, 2009 at 6:33 PM
MOOSEBURG, Tenn., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A hostage situation in a Mooseburg, Tenn., barn ended Tuesday with four people dead, including the hostage taker-shooter, sheriff's department officials said.

The apparent multiple murder-suicide was discovered after more than three dozen heavily armed police tactical unit officers entered the barn where the killings occurred, WJHL-TV, Johnson City, reported.
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Tenn. hostage situation ends in 4 dead