Would-be rapist takes a beating
Thursday, Jan. 29 2009 @ 7:35AM
An early news report about the deaths of the Lupoe family in Wilmington, CA.
If you search the term "murder-suicide" in Google News, you receive over 1300 results. And they're not all the same story, either. Economic woes are beginning to take a human toll that may only increase in the weeks and months to come.
At least it seems that way. The truth is that times like these reveal faultlines -- in lives, in marriages, in psyches. The following is a short list of recent murder-suicides in the news that have some connection to financial troubles in the family or relationship in question:
-- Ervin Antonio Lupoe and his family: Mr. Lupoe and his wife Ana lost their jobs with a Kaiser hospital in LA after they were accused of fraud. While Ervin Lupoe pointed to this and other money-related issues as causes in a rambling letter he faxed to an LA-area media outlet, the Los Angeles Times reports that "[the] couple's financial situation, though pressing in recent months, did not appear to be especially dire. The Lupoes were behind one month in their mortgage, investigators said. They found notices of two bounced checks -- one for about $15,000, the other for almost $2,000 -- to pay for property taxes and penalties, according to the police sources. Investigators said it did not appear they were behind on their credit card payments." Death toll in the Lupoe murder-suicide: 7. The Lupoes marked the 5th time in the last year that an entire SoCal family has been murdered or killed during the commission of a murder-suicide.
-- The Meeks family, Columbus, Ohio: The Associated Press didn't name the family, but did report the following: "A neighbor said the father recently lost his job, something that may have been a factor in the deaths, investigators said." The Columbus Dispatch reports that the deceased were "Mark Meeks, 51; [...] Jennifer Dallas-Meeks, 40; and their children, Abby, 8, and Jimmy, 5." Police have not officially declared the deaths a murder-suicide, but believe the scene they found at 918 Beechwood Rd. "has the markings of a murder-suicide." Death toll in possible Meeks murder-suicide: 4.
-- Brittany Marie Givens-Copeland and Adam Keith Williams: Burnsville, MN resident Brittany Givens-Copeland was either drowned or asphyxiated prior to the fire that led to police uncovering her death and the death of her (possibly former) boyfriend, Adam Keith Williams. Williams intentionally allowed himself to succumb to the fire he set after killing Givens-Copeland. According to the Associated Press, Givens-Copeland had planned to break up with Williams, but he'd also "been fired from his job a couple of weeks ago and had started working at a restaurant nearby." Death toll: 2. The combo of domestic troubles between the pair and quite possibly the job loss may have caused Williams to go over the edge, here.
-- Jason and Serena Montes: Like Givens-Copeland and Adam Keith Williams, Jason and Serena Montest were having problems in their relationship. The Concord, CA gaming journalist shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself about two weeks ago. On top of their relationship problems, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that "Jason Montes filed for personal bankruptcy protection in June."
If you know of other stories where the current economic problems may have contributed in some way to the deaths of two or more people, feel free to leave a comment with a link at the end of this post.
Remember, though -- the current crisis hasn't caused these things to happen, per se. To say that is to imply that the people who commit the murders before killing themselves are somehow not responsible for their actions. Make no mistake about it -- murder-suicides can result from impulsive acts of passion, but usually, they are a narcissist's final act of control over those whom they view as, in a way, extensions of themselves. Straitened times simply reveal the brittle constructs some people have put in place to keep life outwardly normal.
While not your typical murder/suicide case, investigators out here in Portland say recent unemployment may have been the final catalyst for the mass shooting that took place last Saturday night.
Posted 01/29/2009 at 11:19:38 AMThis is all very sad and tragic news. I pray this trend will stop, but I too fear it is on the rise.
Posted 01/29/2009 at 01:38:48 PMIf only these people could see that everything in this life is so temporary, that "this too shall pass". If they want to take their own lives that is their decision, but to take the life of a spouse and children because they themselves cannot cope I feel is the ultimate act of cowardess.
We are keeping track of these at Greenspan's Body Count.
Posted 01/29/2009 at 02:03:59 PMUpdated regularly:
http://murder-suicide.blogspot.com
Drop by for the latest mashed-up Murder/Suicide news!
Posted 01/29/2009 at 02:23:40 PMI agree that murder suicide is the ultimate selfish act but I think people also feel very trapped and afraid in an economy that has collapsed. Everyday there are thousands more laid off and if you are one of them wondering where your next job will come from it can be daunting. When a person doesn't have the internal tools to navigate through a nightmare, maybe this is their best idea. That certainly doesn't make it right in any stretch of the imagination. And to take children with you? There are no words. When the veil is lifted, we see ourselves for who we really are, what we are capable of. Sometimes that picture is unfathomable. My heart goes out to those left behind who now have to make some sort of sense out of the senseless.
Posted 01/29/2009 at 04:17:13 PMYou know its amazing to me the differences in hardship between what we have now and what, say, our great grandparents faced. Of course job layoffs are devastating and affect the whole family. But consider this----what if you couldn't eat because your crops failed? What if everyone in your family started dying off because of yellow fever? What if you couldn't read because you were beaten by your owners if they caught you with a book? What if the wheel broke on your only mode of transportation----your wagon?
Posted 01/29/2009 at 07:41:49 PMWe have become rather spoiled as a society, we take things for granted and assume that we are entitled to certain luxuries just because they exist.
This isn't new, it's been happening forever because so many men regard their wives and children as possessions, to do with as they wish, and it stinks.
Posted 01/29/2009 at 09:59:12 PMFYI: i read the Columbus, OH murder-suicide on CNN says the husband was employed
NOTE FROM STEVE: Thanks. I still wonder if money may have had something to do with this. I'll keep track of the story to see what comes out.
Posted 01/30/2009 at 06:31:44 AMVery, very sad. Made me think of a case this past summer in England. A millionaire whose business was going down the drain shot his wife and teenage daughter before killing himself and setting fire to their mansion. It was quite a gripping case as it was initially thought that it was a crime committed by someone he had done business with. However, the police eventually found CCTV of him shooting his horses in the grounds of the house, parking a car in front of the gates and letting the tyres down to prevent emergency services getting through. Terribly sad. This link has a pretty good summary of the case:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4663899.ece
Posted 01/31/2009 at 11:15:42 AMRemember when it was only stockbrokers who killed themselves during market crashes?
Basically, though, family annhilators--and that's what these people are--have a different psychological make-up than mass murderers and serial killers. They're narcissitic, of course, as they view their families as no more than extensions of themselves. Since they have plunged into a suicidal depression, they decide if THEY can't stand to live any longer, neither should their families. It is cowardice of the grossest sort--they want to die, but are afraid of doing so alone. I suspect all these guys were in deep depressions and experiencing deep emotional/mental problems long before the 'final straw', though, whether anyone recognized it or not. Like Boone Pickens said, when hard times come and the high tide goes out, everyone can see who's been swimming nekkid, whether financially or psychologically.
Posted 01/31/2009 at 05:40:37 PMJUST LAST NIGHT IN FAYETTEVILLE NC WILLIAM MAXWELL MURDERED HIS WIFE AND TWO TEENAGE CHILDREN THEN SHOT HIMSELF. THOUGHT TO BE OVER FINANCES. 10-3-2009
Posted 11/03/2009 at 03:25:17 AM