nick
January 29th, 2011, 12:20 PM
Police said the military officer's wife killed her son on the way to soccer practice, then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while the girl studied at her computer.
When police responded to a call from a concerned relative and found Julie Schenecker on the back porch of her Tampa home, they said she was covered in blood and made a gut-wrenching admission: She had killed her teenage son and daughter because they were "mouthy."
Schenecker was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail on Friday, shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy.
Schenecker's mother had called police from Texas at about 7:40 a.m. Friday because she was unable to reach the 50-year-old woman, whom she said was depressed and had been complaining about her children.
McElroy said Schenecker left a note detailing her plans to kill her children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it." She provided the same motive to police who interviewed her, authorities said.
After being advised of her right to remain silent and consult an attorney, "the suspect confessed to killing her two children," police said in a statement. "She described the crimes in detail."
Schenecker's husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The father had been away for several days.
Officers found the body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx Schenecker, 16, in an upstairs bedroom, McElroy said. The body of her son, Beau Schenecker, 13, was found in a sport utility vehicle in the garage.
An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice Thursday night. She drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of the head while the teen sat at a computer doing homework, then shot her in the face, the affidavit said.
McElroy said investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. Police said the weapon was purchased five days earlier, The Tampa Tribune reported.
The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa.
Charanun Soodjinda, 38, lives across the street. He said the Scheneckers moved in about two years ago and "fit right in."
"They seemed like a nice family," Soodjinda said. "I never thought this would happen. How could you do that to your children?"
Source (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8290398/US-Army-officers-wife-charged-in-with-shooting-her-mouthy-teenagers.html)
When police responded to a call from a concerned relative and found Julie Schenecker on the back porch of her Tampa home, they said she was covered in blood and made a gut-wrenching admission: She had killed her teenage son and daughter because they were "mouthy."
Schenecker was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail on Friday, shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy.
Schenecker's mother had called police from Texas at about 7:40 a.m. Friday because she was unable to reach the 50-year-old woman, whom she said was depressed and had been complaining about her children.
McElroy said Schenecker left a note detailing her plans to kill her children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it." She provided the same motive to police who interviewed her, authorities said.
After being advised of her right to remain silent and consult an attorney, "the suspect confessed to killing her two children," police said in a statement. "She described the crimes in detail."
Schenecker's husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The father had been away for several days.
Officers found the body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx Schenecker, 16, in an upstairs bedroom, McElroy said. The body of her son, Beau Schenecker, 13, was found in a sport utility vehicle in the garage.
An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice Thursday night. She drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of the head while the teen sat at a computer doing homework, then shot her in the face, the affidavit said.
McElroy said investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. Police said the weapon was purchased five days earlier, The Tampa Tribune reported.
The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa.
Charanun Soodjinda, 38, lives across the street. He said the Scheneckers moved in about two years ago and "fit right in."
"They seemed like a nice family," Soodjinda said. "I never thought this would happen. How could you do that to your children?"
Source (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8290398/US-Army-officers-wife-charged-in-with-shooting-her-mouthy-teenagers.html)