Raging dad orphans five kids after killing mom and blasting himself in head with AK rifle
The woman's stepdaughter found her dead on the couch in their Pontiac, Michigan, home with her long-term boyfriend found slumped over the wheel of his car not long later
A dad shot dead his long-term girlfriend before taking his own life with an AR-15 rifle, leaving five children as orphans.
The apparent murder-suicide was discovered on Thursday night in Pontiac, Michigan. Latrece Shanna Harper, 33, was found dead on a couch in her home by her stepdaughter. She died from a single gunshot wound to her head, the sheriff's office revealed.
Her boyfriend Clifford Torrell Noel Jr., 41, was found nearby a short time later slumped over the wheel of a car. He had shot himself with an AR-15 style rifle. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead there in the latest murder-suicide to shock the country.
Investigators say the couple had been together for about 10 years and believe the deaths came after an argument between the two of them.
Five children, aged four to 15, lived with the couple but thankfully were not in the home at the time of the shooting. They were found unharmed in a motel in Rochester Hills.
Child Protective Services has arranged placement for the children. "It breaks my heart when relationships turn violent," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. "If you're in an abusive one, get help. There are people and groups ready to guide you to safety."
According to the Violence Policy Center, nearly 1,200 Americans die in murder-suicides each year.
Nine out of 10 murder-suicides involve a gun. In nearly two-thirds of all murder-suicides, an intimate partner of the shooter is among the victims.
This comes after a family was found shot to death on their front porch in what police believe to be a double-murder suicide in a rural Texas town on Thursday.
Police say a man, identified as Salvador Ramirez, 52, reportedly made several distressing phone calls to relatives on Thursday, hours before the disturbing discovery. Family members went to check on Ramirez at his home in Conroe after not being able to contact him for several hours.
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Ramirez was found dead along with his wife, Maria Ramirez, 39, and the couple's 3-year-old son. A Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the phone calls made by the man revealed a possible motive for the crime, but wouldn't reveal more information. A gun was recovered from the scene, said the sheriff's office.