An Indiana father shot his two teenage children to death while they slept before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
Officials said that Harrison Hunn, 15, and Shelby Hunn, 13, were killed by Michael Hunn, 50, at his home northeast of Northfield in rural Boone County.
Stephanie Reece, Hunn’s ex-wife, went to the house after her children’s school called her and said they were absent on Friday morning, Sept. 21.
When she arrived, she found the door locked. Her children and ex-husband also weren’t answering their phones, so she called 911.
Boone County Sheriff’s deputies soon arrived, went inside, and found the children and Hunn dead.
Authorities say these children were the victims in today's double murder-suicide in rural Boone County. Zionsville Community Schools says one teen was in their middle school and the other attended their high school. https://t.co/LWtvZzedov pic.twitter.com/X6XQrpoqqQ
— FOX59 News (@FOX59) September 21, 2018
Latest updates on the double murder-suicide of a father and his two children in rural Boone County: https://t.co/5kWOx1n5SW
— Jenna Watson (@JennaRWatson) September 21, 2018
Teens Were Sleeping
Sheriff Mike Nielsen said it appeared that Hunn shot his children as they slept before killing himself.
“I’ll never be able to explain why it happens. It’s a tragic event, we see it all too often and we just don’t have the answers sometimes for why these things occur,” Sheriff Nielsen said, reported Fox 59. “This is a community that’s come together in the past, it’s going to come together in this particular event as well and we’re gonna try to get through it.”
Nielsen said an investigation has been launched but right now the motive for the killings is unclear.
“It may take us weeks, it may take us months to figure out and during that time the investigation will continue and it’s going to be important we continue to pray for the family because they’re going to need that closure,” Sheriff Nielsen said.
Divorce and Concerns
Documents obtained by the Indianapolis Star showed Reece and Hunn were married for 17 years before getting divorced in November 2017.
Reece stated in divorce proceedings that she was concerned about Hunn’s behavior around the children and requested the judge reduce his time with them. She also requested he be monitored with a blood alcohol monitoring device.
The petition stated that the children had told their grandmother Hunn was drinking and wasn’t able to drive them to events or take care of them.
A mediation agreement reached in April indicated the divorced couple resolved the issues, with Hunn agreeing to use a mobile breathalyzer system and pay weekly child support. However, in July Reece’s attorney told Hunn’s lawyer that he wasn’t paying child support, while Hunn was also on the hook for a toll ticket he had agreed to pay.
A petition filed in August based on the issues led to a hearing being scheduled for late September.
From NTD.tv
