Crestline, California: Denise Snyder kills her autistic grandson, 9, then herself

Crestline woman fatally shoots grandson, self

October 19, 2010
KABC

CRESTLINE, Calif. (KABC) -- A Crestline woman fatally shot her 9-year-old grandson and herself Monday, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's deputies and Crest Forest Fire personnel responded to a report of two people shot at a residence on the 500 block of Springy Path in Crestline Monday.

At about 5:30 p.m., Crestline resident James Snyder discovered his wife and his grandson at the home. They both had gunshot wounds. Officers and paramedics determined both were dead.

A sheriff's dept. homicide team was summoned and began a murder investigation.

Sheriff's detectives assert that Denise Snyder, 50, shot her grandson and then shot herself. The Snyders had custody of their grandson since his birth, according to the department. The grandson was reportedly diagnosed with autism.

"To me, I think she couldn't handle the kid, because it wasn't hers, it was her grandkid," said neighbor Mario Julian. "And we did hear her yelling at him a lot, quite a bit, and figured that was normal."

Julian said he spoke to the husband, who said his wife was taking the prescription drug Oxycontin. According to the husband, she was out of medication and may have suffered a breakdown.

"He's saying that she was taking them like six pills a day," said Julian.

Related Content

link: Autism Speaks - Autism Response Team

"This is a small community, so we're all just freaking out about this," said Crestline resident Stevan Oerlemans. "This just doesn't happen up here."

The investigation was ongoing Tuesday.

Anyone with information related to the case was asked to call homicide detectives at (909) 387-3589 or (800) 78-CRIME.

If you have a child with autism or know someone who does, help is available to get you through those tough times. Call the Autism Response Team at 888-AUTISM2 (288-4762) or send an e-mail to familyservices@autismspeaks.org.

Colorado Springs: 13-year-old autistic boy and sibling killed by mother

Essex Lane deaths apparent murder-suicide

MATT STEINER
THE GAZETTE
A mother apparently shot her two children in their home Monday while her husband was at work, then turned the gun on herself, Colorado Springs police said an autopsy by the El Paso County coroner determined.

The bodies of Rene Ogden, 38, and her twin 13-year-old son and daughter were found in the family’s home at 1941 Essex Lane east of Wasson High School by Tommy Ogden around 3:30 p.m.

Rene Ogden, son Chase and daughter Olivia died of gunshot wounds to the head, the coroner said.

The children’s deaths are the 20th and 21st homicides in Colorado Springs this year.

Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Noblitt said the children’s deaths are still under investigation but provided no information on whether a suspect is being sought, if anyone else had been in the house or if more than one weapon was used.

An officer guarding the home Tuesday said there was no sign of a break-in.

Police offered no explanation for the apparent murder-suicide. Neighbors said the son was autistic, although none said they socialized much with the family or knew them well.

Rene Ogden spent a lot of her time on the Internet, corresponding with people through Facebook and playing games on the social networking site, according to people she befriended online.

One of those, Brad Ake, who lives in Texas where Rene Ogden attended high school, said the two often talked about birth defects and raising children with developmental disabilities. Ake’s daughter had severe birth defects and died very young.

Ake and others who chatted with her, said she loved her children, but that she talked about struggling with depression and loneliness.

“She was very sad most of the time,” Ake said in an interview with The Gazette on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, flowers and other mementos were placed at the doorway of the rented home in the neighborhood near Constitution Avenue and Academy Boulevard. Tommy Ogden, who had been questioned by police about the deaths, went inside briefly, then left, a neighbor across the street said.

The family moved to Colorado Springs while her husband was in the Army. Tommy Ogden had served at least one combat tour in Iraq with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, a former Fort Carson unit now based at Fort Hood, Texas.

In happier times, Rene Ogden had posted the following on Reunion.com:

“About My Personal Life I have been living it up from Hawaii to Colorado with my wonderful husband and kids! We have been married since July of 1996. His name is Tom Ogden, who is now 36, and he has been in the Army for 19 years. We married in Hawaii in July of 1996, where we lived for two more years and then moved here to Colorado Springs in May of 1998. We may end up back in the Golden Triangle Area (in Texas) eventually. It looks like that is where my husband’s job is considering transferring him to. Although right now he is serving one year in Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom. We have a beautiful set of twins ... Chase Garrett and Olivia Brianna who were born in 1997.”

The children attended Colorado Springs School District 11’s Galileo School of Math and Science on Union Boulevard, where a short assembly was held Tuesday to inform students about the tragedy and to let them know counselors were available for them.

Thursday, a sixth-grade classmate of the twins, accompanied by his mother, Carla Garcia, drove up to the Essex Lane house.

The were staring at the house when they were told about the autopsy results.

“With the wife being here with the autistic kid and the husband deployed, that’s hard on a mother,” Garcia said. “Everybody’s upset about it. There were kids involved. They didn’t do anything to anybody.”

Garcia, who lives near Constitution Avenue and Union Boulevard, said residents in the area also had been worried about their own safety during the past three days.

“We thought there was a killer on the loose,” she said.

Columbia, Maryland: Deaths of Tracy Hawks and Christopher Melton, mother and son, ruled murder-suicide

Howard County police complete two-month investigation
By Kellie Woodhouse
kwoodhouse@patuxent.com
Posted 8/09/10

After a two-month investigation, Howard County police have classified as a murder-suicide the death of a Columbia woman and her 18-year-old disabled son.

Police say that Tracy Hawks, 47, used a gas generator June 4 to take her life and that of her son, Christopher Melton, who had autism and mild mental retardation.

New details of the June incident reveal that Hawks suffered from depression.

On the evening of June 4, Hawks’ mother and father called Hawks repeatedly, according to a police report. When she failed to answer, the two went to her Hickory Ridge home to check on Hawks, who had been threatening suicide for more than a month, the father told police. The father used a key to enter the residence, noticed a generator in the dining room and found Hawks and Melton in Hawks’ bedroom, lifeless, a police report states.

He called police, who arrived minutes later. They determined that the “newly purchased” generator was depleted of gas and located a red gas can that was nearly empty, according to the police report. The report states that the two died from suffocation.

Melton, a junior at Atholton High School, participated in the school’s Academic Life Skills special education program. According to the report, his teacher told police that it would not “have occurred to Christopher that his mother would hurt him.”

According to the report, police determined that Melton “was a special needs adult who would not have the capacity for deducing that his mother’s actions would render such life-threatening consequences,” and as such was killed by his mother.

Court documents and the police report show that Hawks was in financial debt, at risk of losing her job as a pharmaceutical rep, in the midst of a divorce and facing criminal charges for misusing her husband’s credit card.

Hawks’ father and sister, who were not named in the report, told police that she struggled with periods of depression throughout her life.

The father said Hawks had been diagnosed with depression two months before her death. According to the police report, Hawks’ sister said, “Tracy had told her best friend... that she was going to commit suicide and take her son with her.”

Because of her threats, Hawks’ family was watchful of her, they told police. Hawks’ sister said they tried not to leave her alone for an extended period of time, the report states.

The sister told police that Hawks had exhibited several warning signs. She told police “she watched Tracy cry every day for two months,” that she received ominous text messages from Hawks, and that Hawks had begun giving her possessions away.

In the report, police said Hawks’ home was “in complete disarray” and was cluttered with paper documents, plastic containers and plastic bags. The report also noted that the residence was sparsely furnished.

According to the sister, Hawks had once been a vigilant homeowner. She told police that “Tracy used to keep her house very neat and orderly, buy expensive stuff and cook (but) she had stopped doing all of these things,” the report states.

On April 26, 2010, the family tried to force Hawks to seek help at Howard County General Hospital, but Hawks would not admit herself into the hospital’s mental health ward voluntarily per the hospital’s guidelines, the report states.

Shortly afterward, Hawks stopped taking her prescription medication, her sister told police.

Hawks’ struggles were first documented in the fall of 2009, when Hawks and her husband, Leslie Hawks, filed protective orders in Howard County District Court.

On August 2009, Tracy Hawks alleged that her husband became “extremely volatile and abusive” when he drank. Hawks said she had bruises on her arms “due to defending myself from his attacks,” court documents state.

She also alleged that her husband had threatened her with an unregistered gun.

The accusations were never proven and the request for a protective order was denied.

In another request filed in October 2009, Hawks said her husband had choked her in 2006 when angered by a high credit card bill, and that he was verbally abusive.

Leslie Hawks also requested a protective order in October, alleging that Tracy Hawks pushed him face-first into a wall.

Both orders were denied.

In a divorce filing, Leslie Hawks alleged that his wife had “harassed and humiliated him” in the presence of his son. In a separate criminal filing, he charged Tracy Hawks with stealing his credit card and accruing $18,000 of charges without his permission.

On May 25, 11 days before her suicide, the two attended a settlement conference for the divorce. According to David Titman, Leslie Hawks’ divorce lawyer, the conference went smoothly.

“There were no raised voices, there was no contentious discussions, it was all very routine,” he said. “Her suicide was a shock to both my client and myself.”

But that same day Hawks wrote an entry in her diary, which was included in the police report:

“I don’t feel that I am deserving of... love. I wish I was different or better. I am so lost,” she wrote. “I feel that my life is over. I have failed at everything. I cannot preserve anything.”

Family members, neighbors, and Melton’s special education teacher all told police Hawks and her son had a close relationship. Melton’s teacher said Hawks regarded her son as her “comforter,” the report states.

Hawks moved to Hickory Ridge in the fall of 2009 so her son could attend Atholton’s Academic Life Skills special education program, which was more tailored to his needs, the teacher told police. Before, Melton attended Mt. Hebron High School, in Ellicott City, for three years.

The teacher, who was not named in the report, told police that Melton’s attendance was “sporadic.” In the week before he died, Melton had not been in class at all, the police report states.

The teacher told police she had worked with Melton for eight years, and in that time she thought Hawks was over-protective of her son and “would not let people in her son’s life.”

The teacher told police Melton was a loving person and a good student.

“Chris was a great kid,” Mt. Hebron principal Scott Ruehl said in an interview. “He was very caring and welcoming.”

Melton’s teacher agreed.

He was the “most delightful, well-behaved child you ever knew,” the teacher told police, according to the report. “Every time someone looked at Christopher, he would smile.”

Bronx, New York: , Micaela Jackson and autistic son, Kenneth Holmes, found dead in suspected murder-suicide

Kenneth Holmes, age 12

BY Kevin Deutsch and John Lauinger
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Thursday, July 29th 2010, 4:00 AM

Frustrated over the demands of raising an autistic child, police believe, a Bronx mother shot the boy to death before turning the gun on herself Wednesday night, cops said.

Micaela Jackson, 37, and Kenneth Holmes, 12, both killed by a gunshot to the head, were found in bed in the single mother's apartment on Loring Place in Morris Heights, police said.

The suspected murder-suicide - the second in as many weeks in the city - left Jackson's family and Kenneth's father shattered.

"I don't see the reason for any of this," said Kenneth Holmes Sr. "We were just getting ready to go to Jamaica, and now this."

Holmes, who was not married to Jackson but remained close with her, said he was in disbelief because Jackson had just been promoted at her job at Montefiore Medical Center.

"She was at a good point in her life," he said, tears streaming down his face as he glanced at a picture of his doe-eyed, curly-haired namesake.

Cops were called to the tragic scene shortly before 7:30 p.m. after Jackson's sister, worried because she could not reach her, went to the apartment, police said.

The door was locked and fastened with a chain from the inside, a fact that strengthened investigators' belief that the deaths were a murder-suicide, police said.

The sister got the building's super to gain entry, leading to the awful discovery. A 9-mm. pistol was recovered close to the bodies of mother and son, police said.

Jackson's heartbroken family gathered outside the apartment building last night, some crying, others shaking with grief.

"She's a good woman. She's a good mother," said Jackson's cousin, refusing to provide a name. "We're looking for answers. It's just a tragedy."

Neighbors said they would often see Jackson early in the morning, putting her son on the bus before leaving for work.

Neighbor Esmerelda Diaz, 22, said she recently saw Jackson chase after her son as he darted across the street.

"She really looked stressed out. She was so tired of screaming at him," she said. "Maybe he pushed her to the extreme and it came to this?"

Holmes could not accept that possibility last night, calling his boy "a gift."

"He was autistic, but he had charm," the devastated father said. "He had a great smile. Even if you had an evil heart, you would still love him."

Last Thursday, the bodies of a young mother and her four children were found amid the ruins of their burned Staten Island home.

Detectives have not made a final determination in the case, but believe Leisa Jones cut the throats of three of her children before setting the blaze that killed her and her youngest child.

jlauinger@nydailynews.com

Gray, Maine: Autistic Gray man, Benjamin McLatchie, 22, killed by his father Daniel McLatchie

Police say the man, who also shot himself, may have been worried about his son's care in the future.
By Dennis Hoey dhoey@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

GRAY - A father shot and killed his autistic son Tuesday at their home on Yarmouth Road before turning the rifle on himself, Maine State Police said.

Cumberland County sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Daniel McLatchie, 44, and his son, Benjamin McLatchie, 22, in the family's driveway at 227 Yarmouth Road around 2:30 p.m.

The driveway, which is several hundred feet long, slopes down from Yarmouth Road -- part of Route 115 -- before ending at a white, two-story, Cape-style home surrounded by woods.

State police Sgt. Chris Harriman said the sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call. He did not say who made the call.

He said it appeared that Daniel McLatchie was upset about what would happen to his autistic son after he and his wife died. He was a stay-at-home father, Harriman said.

Daniel McLatchie's wife, Allison McLatchie, 45, was at work when the shootings happened.

Harriman said she is a teacher at the Collaborative School on the Pineland Campus in New Gloucester. According to its website, the school serves students from ages 5 to 19 who are eligible for special education services because of emotional or related disabilities.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Marguerite Dewitt examined the bodies in Gray. She determined that McLatchie and his son died from gunshot wounds. A rifle was found near the bodies.

The bodies were taken to Augusta, where the state Medical Examiner's Office is expected to do autopsies today.

Harriman would not characterize the shootings as a murder-suicide, but said during a press conference, "We do believe there were no other people involved."

Mary Keith has lived nearby on Yarmouth Road for 10 years, but said she never got to know the McLatchies. She said the family moved into the neighborhood about six years ago.

Ginger Taylor of Brunswick, who writes the blog "Adventures in Autism" and whose 8-year-old son has been diagnosed with autism, said she doesn't know the McLatchies, but noted there are pressures for families with autistic children.

"Having an autistic child is, on a social level, very hard because it can be very isolating. You don't get to be part of those social circles anymore and you can't participate in the life of the town. There are just so many challenges," said Taylor, who has organized Greater Brunswick Special Families, a support group for parents of autistic children.

She said there is "a huge tidal wave of autistic children born in the 1980s and 1990s who are coming of age." Parents who care for autistic children at home need greater support, such as respite care and counseling, she said.

Taylor said one of the most common fears for parents with autistic children is what will happen to the children after the parents are gone.

"That is the big question -- what happens to our child when we die," she said. "We understand their needs better than anyone else. It really breaks my heart hearing what happened to this family. It shouldn't be like that."



Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com

Edmonton, Ontario: Killer dad 'couldn't cope'

Family experienced severe behavioural problems with autistic son
By RICHARD LIEBRECHT, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: September 30, 2009 3:16am

It was a "loving, caring" father who killed his 11-year-old autistic son before killing himself, according to family.

That message was passed through a social worker who tried helping the family cope with struggles that bring many parents to the edge.

"I wasn't surprised. It was a feeling of dread, like oh my god, it happened," said Karen Phillips, program director for the Autism Society of Edmonton Area, who worked directly with the suffering family.

"(The mother) said (the father) just couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't cope. He was worried his son wasn't going to get what he needed.

"Something had to give here."

She broke down, saying, "the bottom line here is that I do worry. There are other families that I worry about. There's intense stress over the long term. It puts people at very high risk, so no, I wasn't very surprised."

The 39-year-old father locked himself in the basement of the family's home at 8403 138 Ave. and, somehow, committed the acts.

The causes of their deaths have not been released, at the request of the surviving mother to protect her remaining young son, said Patrycia Thenu, police spokesman.

However, cops are dubbing it a homicide-suicide.

The bodies were found by family just before 1 p.m. Sunday.

The 11-year-old threw thrashing fits and slept poorly, said Phillips.

In the spring of 2008, he had such a tantrum that his family took him to Royal Alexandra hospital.

"The family gets to the point of becoming unglued. They don't know what to do," said Phillips.

Royal Alex staff originally said it was the wrong place to take him, she said.

She notes that there are no emergency services for autistic people when parents lose control. Also, parents never really know if their child is freaking out because something is medically wrong with them.

The 11-year-old spent 20 hours strapped to a hospital bed, screaming, said Phillips.

It was the breaking point. After 10 years of home care, the family sought to have their son sent out for care.

"They were wondering what they were going to do now with his severe behavioural problems," said Phillips.

It took some time to find a placement.

Meanwhile, the family was stressed. The stress didn't break, even as a group home took the 11-year-old on weekdays.

"Mom has said it's kind of been an accumulation of stress that's built up over time," said Phillips.

Phillips urged that the government and community must step forward to offer parents of autistic children more support, especially for emergency relief.

RICHARD.LIEBRECHT@SUNMEDIA.CA