Massachusetts dad shoots his two kids; kills one

[LongLiveDisney]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/da-mass-dad-shoots-kids-fatally-kills-16879788

A man who had recently separated from his wife shot his two children, killing his 7-year-old daughter, before committing suicide, prosecutors said.

A family member called police Saturday night after finding the bodies of 41-year-old Daryl Benway and his daughter, Abigail, in the master bedroom of their two-story Oxford home, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said. Benway's 9-year-old son, Owen, was found shot in the head in the kitchen and was taken to UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center in serious condition.

Benway's wife, Kelleen, returned home after the shootings, unaware of what had happened, and found a swarm of police cruisers and television crews, Early said. She was taken to the children's hospital, where authorities told her the fates of her children and husband.

Neighbors told the Telegram & Gazette that Daryl Benway's brother Shawn lived on the first floor of the home with his wife and mother. Shawn Benway called 911 to report the shootings, Early said.

Daryl and Kelleen Benway separated three or four weeks ago but were still married, Early said. He said he couldn't speculate on a motive.

No restraining orders had been filed against Daryl Benway, and he had no criminal record, the DA said. He had a gun license that expired in 1999, Early said.

"It doesn't get much worse than this," Early said. "It's a horrible scene, a horrible situation."

On Daryl Benway's Facebook page, his profile picture posted December 2011 showed him with his family in front of a Christmas tree. He described the woman next to him as "my Beautiful wife Kelleen." Owen stood in front of him in a white dress shirt and red plaid tie, while brown-haired Abigail wore a black and white dress with a black hair bow.

Daryl Benway listed his place of employment as TJX ***., which operates discount retailers TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, as well as Ross Stores Inc.

Sue Brennan, who lives behind the Benways, said Daryl Benway always seemed easy-going.

"He's the most happy-go-lucky guy I know. I just don't see him doing that," Brennan, 47, told the Boston Globe.

Michael Courtemanche, of Webster, said he grew up with Benway and although he hadn't spoken to him much over the past 10 years, he saw him just three days ago.

"They were excellent, a good family," Courtemanche, 40, told the newspaper. "Just like any other family, they had problems. But Daryl was always friendly, always in a good mood."

Unbelievable.

 

[usnuzuloose]

That is so heart breaking

 

[Jeanne B]

Such a heart breaking story, hopefully the son pulls through, I can't even imagine their mothers pain.

On Friday morning there was a domestic violence shooting 20 minutes away from me, a 53 yr old woman came home from work and was shot to death by her boyfriend as a result of her breaking up with him, and I've seen two other articles this weekend besides the one posted here involving domestic shootings which resulted in deaths. There's too much of this going on.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Wow, that is awful.

 

[luvmy3]

How tragic

 

[cm8]

Such a heart breaking story, hopefully the son pulls through, I can't even imagine their mothers pain.

On Friday morning there was a domestic violence shooting 20 minutes away from me, a 53 yr old woman came home from work and was shot to death by her boyfriend as a result of her breaking up with him, and I've seen two other articles this weekend besides the one posted here involving domestic shootings which resulted in deaths. There's too much of this going on.

Agreed, there was one in SC yesterday in Goose Creek

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Saw that on the news last night. Not sure why police took the mom away in handcuffs. I mean, I take it she was upset, and they wanted to get her to the hospital before giving her the news, but handcuffs?

 

[Magic Mom]

Saw that on the news last night. Not sure why police took the mom away in handcuffs. I mean, I take it she was upset, and they wanted to get her to the hospital before giving her the news, but handcuffs?

Maybe at that time they didn't realize it was a murder suicide by the father and they thought she was involved. I can't imagine any other reasonable explanation.

Poor woman.

 

[marybet]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/da-mass-dad-shoots-kids-fatally-kills-16879788



Unbelievable.

Sadly it's not.

 

[StephMK]

Horrifying. I cannot imagine receiving that news about someone that you loved at one point & the kids you had together.

 

[happygirl]

I just can't even begin to think what goes through a parent mind to make them want to do that to there kids

 

[psupple]

This happened in the town I work in... 20 minutes away from where I live. Waiting to hear tomorrow if anyone at the office knew the family. There was a picture in the paper but they didn't look familiar. Such a sad story.

 

[beaucoup]

This is the small town & street I live in. It happened last night and I can't believe it's already on the national news. Thanks to Facebook, I knew about it pretty quickly, and it was still hours before anything was on the local / state news stations or their Facebook pages.

News travels fast in a small town. And the rumors we heard all turned out to be true once the confirmed news came out.

Really sad & tragic. Sounds out of character for him from those that knew him.

Poor family.

 

[beaucoup]

Saw that on the news last night. Not sure why police took the mom away in handcuffs. I mean, I take it she was upset, and they wanted to get her to the hospital before giving her the news, but handcuffs?

Yeah, as this is my local police department, THAT has really bothered me. I want to know more about that for sure. Later when its a more appropriate time though.

 

[beaucoup]

This happened in the town I work in... 20 minutes away from where I live. Waiting to hear tomorrow if anyone at the office knew the family. There was a picture in the paper but they didn't look familiar. Such a sad story.

The lovely family Christmas photo is the profile pic of his facebook page.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Yeah, as this is my local police department, THAT has really bothered me. I want to know more about that for sure. Later when its a more appropriate time though.

The article in the Telegram says there was initially confusion about what happened. I took it to mean they weren't sure if it was a murder suicide at first.

 

[psupple]

The lovely family Christmas photo is the profile pic of his facebook page.

My husband just found that... creepy.

 

[happygirl]

My husband just found that... creepy.

I wish the family would shut down his page.

 

[beaucoup]

Page was private to me. Only his friends can see or write on his wall. I am sure just 24 hrs after tragedy and boy still in hospital, that taking care of a private Facebook page is the least of her concerns. Wife will take care of it when she gets to it. Police probably want to see anything he posted to it anyway.

 

[NikitaZee]

Page was private to me. Only his friends can see or write on his wall. I am sure just 24 hrs after tragedy and boy still in hospital, that taking care of a private Facebook page is the least of her concerns. Wife will take care of it when she gets to it. Police probably want to see anything he posted to it anyway.

I was just looking at his fb page. Public - there was space for me to comment if I wanted. There are almost 200 comments on the pics of him and his family. Some family/friends are obviously in denial and think there's no way he did this. Some of the other comments are horrible, people (strangers to the family) are really, really mad about this. However, as one person commented - it isn't an entertainment site to comment on - the family left behind will end up seeing it. I agree with the PP who said I hope it gets taken down.