Missouri man reading hears gunshot, finds wife and 2 kids dead

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Police parked outside the Glendale, Mo. home where a mother allegedly killed her two children, then herself.

/ KMOV

(CBS/AP) GLENDALE, Mo. - Police said a man was reading in his suburban St. Louis home Monday when he heard a gunshot, then found his wife and two children dead in other rooms of their house in what authorities suspect was a murder-suicide.

Officers were called to the larger house in the western suburb of Glendale after the man found the bodies. He called 911 shortly before 11 a.m., and police found each of the victims had gunshot wounds.

According to CBS St. Louis, Glendale Police Sgt. Bob Catlett said investigators believe mother Catherine Murch shot and killed her 11-year-old son Mitchell and 9-year-old daughter Mary Claire before turning the gun on herself. When police arrived, the father was performing CPR on his son.

Catlett told The Associated Press that the woman's husband is being questioned but isn't being called a suspect.

The husband thought the gunfire was "coming from outside, so he ran to his front door and saw that his wife was laying in the kitchen, his son was laying in a side room and his daughter was in the second story of the home," Catlett told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A neighbor, who declined to give her full name, told The Associated Press that the parents were devoted to their children and church, and that the mother never showed hints of mental illness.

Authorities said the killings were being investigated as a murder-suicide.

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by dresia August 3, 2012 10:01 AM EDT: Something is not right! This is where I get hazy, see below.

(The husband thought the gunfire was "coming from outside, so he ran to his front door and saw that his wife was laying in the kitchen, his son was laying in a side room and his daughter was in the second story of the home) No, not for one min, do I believe this women shot herself and killed her children.

Gunshots in the house verses gunshots in the streets are louder in the house. You're going to jump up right away at the first gun shot in the house because it's RIGHT THEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I don't believe that bullsh*t story for one min. I think he had something to do with their deaths.

He LIED, point blank, he lied. Investigate him until he breaks.; Reply to this comment

by Maerzie August 1, 2012 10:52 AM EDT

You are so right "berlinfoto-2009"! In Germany, they even teach religion in the PUBLIC schools. Obviously THEY learned from their travesty, which is something WE still have to go through before people give honor and glory to our Supreme Being. I'm sure NONE of the critics, who obviously are too lazy to practice ANY religion, have ever questioned where all the order and perfection in nature comes from, and I'm sure they have grown MANY a plant or tree WITHOUT USING ANY substance given to us by our Supreme Being, like, even our "dirt"! They are simply selfish, non-thinkers! Thinking takes too much energy. Sure, a "Big Bang" did it all, just accidentally, which is why there is so much perfection! Lazy people, who don't want to take the time to give their Creator ANY glory, are the only ones this ignorant! Even the primitives, KNEW there is a "Supreme" Being, call it what you want, and ALWAYS worshipped what was bigger and more awesome than themselves! Funny, how, on their deathbeds, they, all of a sudden want God or a priest!

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by bearfoot33 August 1, 2012 1:42 PM EDT: speak for yourself!

by Bojax39 August 1, 2012 10:45 AM EDT

Wondering how three gunshots occurred and bodies in 3 different areas of the home before the guy finally turned his attention to the situation.... Was he deaf or was the house really well soundproofed, or.....?

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by dresia August 3, 2012 9:50 AM EDT: Bojax39, you hit the nail right on the head, I was wondering the same thing?

by phwtb100 August 1, 2012 9:42 AM EDT

The father heard a gun shot (singular) and ran to the front door- yet 1 body is upstairs and 2 are down stairs? 3 shots minimum.

Is this a case of him trying to talk his way out of being arrested fro murdering his family or poor journalism and no proofing from an editor?

Just curious...

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by byrdh5n1 August 1, 2012 10:01 AM EDT: It must have been a really really good book......

by WakeUpPeople001 August 1, 2012 12:06 AM EDT

"the parents were devoted to their children and church"

AND they owned a gun. The first piece of evidence that something was screwed up in their thinking.

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by erasmus111 August 1, 2012 9:16 AM EDT: berlinfoto-2009

You like being a SLAVE to your FEARS? That's not FREEDOM.

When you feel the need to own a gun, you're living in fear.

The rest of the world has learned something. America seems to be slow in learning a lot of things. Guns, lack of health care for all, lousy educational system, racism....


by phwtb100 August 1, 2012 9:39 AM EDT: Not as much as your comment PROVES something is screwed up with yours!


by marzxyz July 31, 2012 7:43 PM EDT: If the husband isn't a suspect today, I wager that he will be tomorrow.; Reply to this comment


by rwsmith29456 July 31, 2012 7:05 PM EDT: He heard 'a' gunshot and ran to the door to see his wife in the kitchen, his son in a side room and his daughter on the second floor. I know this is just a news article but it reads fishy.; Reply to this comment


by PopTheTrunkOnYou July 31, 2012 4:33 PM EDT: It's a f***ed up world !; Reply to this comment


by djseavy July 31, 2012 3:42 PM EDT: Contrary to what meatrex1 spews, people can snap in an instant. Some people show no signs of trouble whatsoever before flipping out and going on a violent rampage. Of course saying the husband must have been cheating makes for juicy gossip, but that's all it's worth. Experience has proven that those who make the most ridiculous accusations are often the very people who are doing what they condemn others for. I can't imagine the horrible pain the husband/father is dealing with right now. Unless there's some evidence that shows he was involved somehow, I view him as a victim of the most nightmarish situation.; Reply to this comment

by erasmus111 July 31, 2012 1:50 PM EDT

"The husband thought the gunfire was "coming from outside, so he ran to his front door and saw that his wife was laying in the kitchen, his son was laying in a side room and his daughter was in the second story of the home,"

Uhhh, something doesn't sound right about this. How much time elapsed after hearing the first shot and him running to the front door? It would be one thing if they were shot all in the same room, but the daughter was upstairs. So the wife would have had to have shot the daughter, then gone downstairs and shot the son and then herself. He must have ignored the first shot.

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by askagain July 31, 2012 2:49 PM EDT: I live in a very large four story house. If my wife is sitting in a room, it could easily take me five or more minutes to find her. Look at the photo of this family's home. It appears that there may be a lot of rooms to check before locating another person.


by erasmus111 July 31, 2012 8:20 PM EDT: askagain

Yeah, but I wasn't talking about the time it took to find them. He said he heard the shots and then ran for the front door. There would have been a bit of time between the first shot (the daughter on the second floor), and the final two shots on the bottom floor. I'm wondering why he wasn't going for the door or looking after the FIRST shot. If he went after the first shot, he would have to be closing in on the front door when the other two shots went off. You would think he would be able to tell that they weren't coming from outside. And where was he? Upstairs or downstairs? All I know is, it doesn't make sense to me.