LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 7, 2008

Cops: Ky. Woman Killed Daughters, Self

Girls, 8, 9, Die Of Stab Wounds In Home; Woman Shot

  • Law enforcement officials interview neighbors outside the home where a woman and two children were found shot to death Monday evening Oct. 6, 2008 in Louisville's South End. Photo

    Law enforcement officials interview neighbors outside the home where a woman and two children were found shot to death Monday evening Oct. 6, 2008 in Louisville's South End.  (AP Photo/The Courier-Journal)

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(AP)  Police were still trying to determine Tuesday why a Louisville woman apparently stabbed her two school-age daughters to death and then shot herself.

A family member stopped by the house just before 7:30 p.m. EDT Monday and found the bodies, Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said.

Investigators believe the woman killed her daughters then shot herself, Smiley said.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Bob Jones identified the mother as Hope Orwick, 35, who he said died of a gunshot wound to the head. The girls were Emily Orwick, 9, and Lindsey Orwick, 8.

Jones said both girls died of stab wounds but he couldn't say how many times they were stabbed. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

Two chaplains were at the scene Monday night, and Smiley said 15 or so family members gathered there. Police talked to relatives to see if they could help explain what may have led to the deaths.

Neighbor Mechelle Rockey, 48, told The Courier-Journal that she has lived across the street from the family for about six months. She said the two girls often played outside.

"They were the sweetest little girls," Rockey said. "They were cute as a button."

Neighborhood children were distraught over the girls' deaths, Rockey said.

"They all played together," she said.



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Add a Comment See all 48 Comments
by mydiatribe October 7, 2008 10:29 AM PDT
Sadly this story keeps repeating. Too many young single parents become overwhelmed and innocentsare killed.

Schools are obligated to advise children of signs to look out for that their parents may be on the verge of a meltdown.
Reply to this comment
by mytoosense October 7, 2008 10:43 AM PDT
Sadly, as the middle class American Dream fades into the sunset, we are going to see more of this.

If I could, I would tell these people that there is hope, Hope, Bush will be out of office in months and McCain is losing the election, Hang in there.
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by mark46n October 7, 2008 10:46 AM PDT
This is sad beyond all comprehension. Why take the life of 2 young innocent little girls just because your life is in turmoil she should have just given the girls to a family member and then killed herself. I hope someone is able to make some sense of this horrible tragedy so the family can have a little closure. My condolences to the family.
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by gop_will_win October 7, 2008 10:53 AM PDT
Where is the father? Maybe he committed these crimes. Or could this be another example of women practicing indiscriminate breeding? Why is there no mention of the father?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by runningralph
========================
He was probably forced to leave. The modern feminist women who decide to have children kick the man out after a few years to raise them on their own. Then the children get eaten up by demons. Ofcourse we dont know if God told her to do this. Then everything would be OK.
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by jamesetling4 October 7, 2008 10:54 AM PDT
Plenty of mothers out there who are just mean and hateful. They believe having children will guarantee a gravy train. When that plan fails and they see that they won''t always get their way, they just get meaner. No doubt this lazy, frustrated woman said, "I''ll show them."
Reply to this comment
by coltom47 October 7, 2008 10:57 AM PDT
No one suffers a tragedy such that some fool neocon does not attempt to benefit. The answer to the question about "where is the father", the answer is that he died about three years ago. The poor woman had appeared to have never recovered after the loss of her husband, I will pray that the Creator forgives her of his madness, forgives her terrible acts. Some times, being a single parent is not a choice, some times we are alone because our spouses are taken from us. Its hard, its harder than you can imagine, it is hard enough having to know that your child will never always miss their father, and you can not understand why a loving god would wish that upon the least of us.
Dang fool neocon, life must be very different when you have to compassion, no mercy, no soul.
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by naiapeja2 October 7, 2008 11:06 AM PDT
just so you know...
the father did not leave, he comitted suicide
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 11:08 AM PDT
Two more innocent kids die in senseless knife murders.
When are we gonna get tougher laws on knife ownership?
Background checks, cooling-off periods, knife-safety classes???
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by heero78-2009 October 7, 2008 11:08 AM PDT

that lady... now SHE''S a maverick.
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
I wonder if God told her to do this. It would be OK then ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by gop_will_win


[Two chaplains were at the scene Monday night] . . . so you can be pretty sure that this was a God-Justified Kill.
Reply to this comment
by bikerb54 October 7, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
gop_will_win, crawl back under that rock. If you can''t say anything worthy, just shut the hell up! I don''t think I am the only one that has read your insane ravings and wanted you to just GO AWAY!!
Reply to this comment
by zanna13 October 7, 2008 11:23 AM PDT
I think it says something that in other headlines this week we also hear of a family of six killed in California by a man who felt overwhelmed by material debt. This is not a partisan or even a modern problem. This reminds me a little of the painting "Faim, Folie et Crime" ("Hunger, Madness and Crime", Antione Wiertz, 1853).
http://www.reproarte.com/files/images/W/wiertz_antoine/hunger_wahnsinn_verbrechen.jpg
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by averjane October 7, 2008 11:46 AM PDT
Some of you people are really stange. You''re so cynical that you cannot even make a sensible comment. What happened in your lives and why have you allowed yourself to become what you are today? It didn''t just happen overnight. You saw it coming and did not get help. You''re no better than this woman who for whatever reason, allowed herself to come to this reasoning that she felt it better to kill her precious children and then herself. She became hope-less. Maybe she felt hopeless because she was never convinced that there was hope even in this sick country we live in. The way the media continually pumps out it''s version of how the world really is with it''s biased support of every social ill and special agendas. If I didn''t look elsewhere for truth, I would probably believe there is none either and not want to live among these evolved monkeys either.
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by easeup-2009 October 7, 2008 11:47 AM PDT
Posted by gop_will_win at 10:53 AM : Oct 07, 2008

How are they biting today?
Reply to this comment
by llcool43 October 7, 2008 11:50 AM PDT
You people are so heartless and thoughtless. Rather the dad was around or not, doesn''t mean this would have been prevented. This mother was so overwhelmed w/something horribly inside her that she could no longer live and felt it was best to take her daughters out of this cruel world. We need to be praying that God will forgive her and take her soul to Heaven. The daughters are with God. Yes, the family needs to know why. How would any of you feel if this mother was your aunt, sister, cousin, neice, grandmother,or close friend? Would it be so funny-I think not. Show compassion and pray that this doesn''t happen to any family in the US or do you know what Prayer is? Pray for strength for this grieving family. This isn''t a joke people, its reality - Get a Grip! The way the economy is now, these killings could increase - LETS PRAY NOT!
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by llcool43 October 7, 2008 11:53 AM PDT
TO Easeup: Somebody needs to kick you in your A_ _! What alien planet did you come from? Go back to it. Have you ever experienced death? I''m quite sure you have. How did you feel or did you feel anything at all? Go back to your rock and never come out!!
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by jayrock80 October 7, 2008 11:58 AM PDT
What is wrong with all of you writing horrible things? You should be ashamed of yourselves. This was a horrible act that left two little girls dead. gop_will_win you are just an idiot. So please keep your stupid remarks to yourself. If anything you should pray that these little girls went fast to our maker. It is a sad world that we live in when the news is filled with these storys.
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by ladycascadia October 7, 2008 11:59 AM PDT
How truly sad to hear about such tragedies in a family. I can''t believe how rude and insensitive some people here are being. How would you feel if those people were one of YOUR relatives? Have a care and think before you post, ok?
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by candyaa-2009 October 7, 2008 11:59 AM PDT
If a man commits such an atrocity everyone always says: "only a man could do this to a child", then act shocked when a women like this sick individual commits such a heinous act. Two weeks time though everyone will be back to the "only a man could do this to a child" line.

My heart goes out to those poor kids.
Reply to this comment
by easeup-2009 October 7, 2008 12:07 PM PDT
Have you ever experienced death?

Posted by LLCool43 at 11:53 AM : Oct 07, 2008

Nope. Still alive.
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 12:08 PM PDT
What is wrong with all of you writing horrible things? You should be ashamed of yourselves. This was a horrible act that left two little girls dead. gop_will_win you are just an idiot. So please keep your stupid remarks to yourself. If anything you should pray that these little girls went fast to our maker. It is a sad world that we live in when the news is filled with these storys ------------------------------------------------ Posted by jayrock80


EVERY time a Preacher gives someone their last rites, they comment, ''lets hope some good comes out of this tragedy''.


Well, isnt a little laughter in an otherwise bleak world a ''good thing''?
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 12:11 PM PDT
How would you feel if those people were one of YOUR relatives? ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by ladycascadia



Differently
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 12:13 PM PDT
Have you ever experienced death? [Posted by LLCool43]
- - - -
Nope. Still alive. ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by easeup



...and you know something? When it finally does come time for me to slap on that dirt overcoat, IF somebody finds a little humor in it...I GUARANTEE YOU, I wont be offended AT ALL!!!
Reply to this comment
by jayrock80 October 7, 2008 12:16 PM PDT
Theres a time to laugh" and a "time to cry. I honestly think that this was not a time for laughter.
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by dragonwithaheadache October 7, 2008 12:16 PM PDT
Once again we see people trying to make this about politics(morons). Quit making everything political will you. There is actually more to life the politics.

My prayers for the family. My hopes the doctors will get a better understanding into why parents do such things.
Reply to this comment
by candy-apple October 7, 2008 12:17 PM PDT
Too many young single parents become overwhelmed and innocentsare killed.
Posted by mydiatribe at 10:29 AM : Oct 07, 2008

35 is not old, but not exactly young either. We''ll never know the whole story about what happened with this family. It''s sad that one parent takes children away from another parent (although the father was not mentioned). I''m certain that the girls had other family members that would''ve taken care of them. Why didn''t she just take her own life and leave the girls alone?
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 12:27 PM PDT
Theres a time to laugh" and a "time to cry. I honestly think that this was not a time for laughter -------------------------- Posted by jayrock80


I respect your opinion, and agree to disagree. Laughter is therapeutic, especially in time of tragedy.
Reply to this comment
by thevicar1 October 7, 2008 12:29 PM PDT
Why didnt she just take her own life and leave the girls alone? ------------------------------------------------------ Posted by candy-apple



Maybe she was as afraid of living, as she was afraid of dying alone?
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by bizzybirdy October 7, 2008 1:05 PM PDT
I wish my 4 grown children would appreciate me more as a parent. I was young and raised them on my own...and didn''t stab them, cook them in a microwave or tie them in a car headed for a lake. They never even call to see if I am still breathing. Guess I should thank God they don''t come and kill me. Shame what parents do to their children AND what children do to their parents nowadays. Am glad I grew up in the "old days". World was a better place then in many ways.
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by scotch41-2009 October 7, 2008 1:39 PM PDT
Who knows what goes on inside a troubled mind...Perhaps she didn''t want her two kids to live in a decadent society without her guidance and protection...Unfortunately, this Mom was unable to face the same society herself....so, she decided to take them with her.....
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by agt-r October 7, 2008 1:44 PM PDT
This has become a scary world. It''s incredible that we are incapable of controlling our emotions and instincts. One thing is to have terrible thoughts and another to commit them. I cannot believe it''s a mental health issue; there has to be another source of such depravation and, at the same time, sense of despair going on across the world.
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by dagrandma October 7, 2008 1:46 PM PDT
mydiatribe: "Too many young single parents become overwhelmed and innocents are killed."

I don''t believe this type of crime is solely a problem among "single" parents.

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by vinnie1939 October 7, 2008 1:46 PM PDT
What a trajic thing to have happened. I don''t know home conditions, or anything about the father. But is it possible the mother was so deeply depressed in her own private world,and felt her children lived in that same world?

Or maybe it was just an act of revenge i.e. ''I''ll show you''. You will never have them!

Either way is sick.

No way do I condon this type action, but you have to admitt, this was a sick women. One other thing ... we do not walk in other''s shoes, so can''t really know what she was thinking when she committed this atrocious act. Or how she condoned it in her mind.

Ahhhh, well ....
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by wilmojo1 October 7, 2008 3:31 PM PDT
I don''t know why this woman did what she did. Maybe she''d gotten tired of fighting the gov''t just to feed and clothe her family. Maybe she was mentally ill. It can be a lot of other reasons also. It''s a tragedy that I wouldn''t wish on anyone though. But there''s one thing that I do know and that is those two little children didn''t have to die. I do not know enough about this story to be able to give any advice about what could have been done to prevent it from happening. But I''m sure that if anyone had cared for the family enough to get involved that something could have been done to prevent what happened. Now, not only is the husband dead but three other members of the family are also. What a tragedy!!!
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by docpeter1953 October 7, 2008 3:46 PM PDT
A Scottish psychiatrist, and director of Priory Hospital in Glasgow. Scotland, Dr. Alex Yellowlees, says that there are definite differences between men and women who kill or harm their children. He says that women tend to be mentally ill, frequently suffering from post-partum depression. Men, on the other hand, feel rage, jealousy, hatred, and revenge when they kill their families.

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 01:55 PM : Oct 07, 2008
_________________________

Post partum depression after 9 years?

Give me a break. The woman was just crazy.
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by nobdehom October 7, 2008 4:06 PM PDT
mydiatribe: "Too many young single parents become overwhelmed and innocents are killed."

I don''''t believe this type of crime is solely a problem among "single" parents.

I''m a single parent it has been extremely hard,she wouldn''t know her Dad if he walked by,she''s better off we have been through hard times we make it and I could never imagine hurting her like that it is so purely evil!

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by crescentgirl October 7, 2008 4:09 PM PDT
I don''t know why this tragedy occured. All i can see is despair in this story. Unfortunately, with the economy going south...i think we are probably going to see more of these types of incidents. Very sad. No matter what the circumstance or how bad it seems, there is always a line of hope out there...u just have to reach for it. It is sad that this woman was not able to do that.
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by jankebenz October 7, 2008 4:29 PM PDT
This must be some of those American "traditional family values" I`m always reading about.

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 01:48 PM : Oct 07, 2008

I don''t know what you read, but this was no traditional family. This scenario is least likely to happen in families that practise tradition, as in a dad who provides and protects,and a mom who cares for and nurtures. The broken family syndrome has become all too common and is a product of selfishness with the repurcussions thereof affecting all of society
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by jamesetling4 October 7, 2008 4:33 PM PDT
I wish my 4 grown children would appreciate me more as a parent. I was young and raised them on my own...and didn''''t stab them, cook them in a microwave or tie them in a car headed for a lake. They never even call to see if I am still breathing. Guess I should thank God they don''''t come and kill me. ------------------------------
Posted by Bizzybirdy

You should acknowledge that nobody forced you to have 4 kids. It was a mess that you got yourself into. Raising kids is hard work. Our planet is overpopulated. Wouldn''t hurt the world if everyone just stopped having kids for about 10 years.
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by docpeter1953 October 7, 2008 4:42 PM PDT
I wish my 4 grown children would appreciate me more as a parent. I was young and raised them on my own...and didn''''''''t stab them, cook them in a microwave or tie them in a car headed for a lake. They never even call to see if I am still breathing. Guess I should thank God they don''''''''t come and kill me.

Posted by Bizzybirdy

_______________________

Jiminee, You sound as if you feel they OWE you something. My ex MIL was that way. completely ruined and had a terrible effect on my first marriage. Anytime my ex and i got ready to take a vacation her mom would have to go to hospital. Nothing ever wrong. I picked that one up within the first yeaar of our marriage, but not the ex. Her mom had already pre-programmed her.

Your kids don''t owe you anything. If you really feel like they do, then send them a bill.
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by suemamma October 7, 2008 5:03 PM PDT
It is likely that no one who posted the harsh, mind-numbingly insensitive comments earlier, has any more knowledge of what happened other than the six short paragraphs that were printed, with little to no information, than anyone else that has posted, including myself. Aren%u2019t we proud of how judgmental and callous we can be at the drop of a hat, for any given tragedy? How we can put aside our own sense of compassion and empathy as long as we can push our own selfish agenda? How knowing that knowing why and how something happened doesn%u2019t make it any less a tragedy, and turn it into something that gives us yet another opportunity to rip people we know nothing about apart on the world-wide web in front of every eye that crosses it. How the friends and families of those actually touched by this also get to see it picked apart and analyzed by hateful, bitter onlookers that have nothing to gain but a sense of their own self-worth out of the tragedy of others. My heart goes out to the lives lost to this horrific end to their short lives no matter what the cause and the ones left to clean up after the mess and heartache they are left with when something like this happens. Finally, my most sincere pity and contempt goes out to those that seek to gain some sense of pious gratification in pointing fingers and spitting blame and judgment out whenever people are at their lowest. It makes me glad to have a heart, even when it breaks over someone elses loss.
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by jankebenz October 7, 2008 5:30 PM PDT
Posted by SueMamma at 05:03 PM : Oct 07, 2008

Even if the story had 600 paragraphs telling every minute detail, there is absolutely no justification or excuse in killing children ,period. If this woman had enough of life then she at least could have left the children with family or the state like the father did with his kids a while back.
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by aggiekat2004 October 7, 2008 7:49 PM PDT
"Aren%u2019t we proud of how judgmental and callous we can be at the drop of a hat, for any given tragedy?"
------------

I think it''s because we''re all tired of seeing tragedies like this, then watching the mother who survived claim a "mental illness" defense or say that "God made her kill her children."

We see this time and time again, and see these women get off with no punishment whatsoever.

Perhaps they''ll rot in hell for what they''ve done...but in my opinion their deaths couldn''t come too soon.

They''ll never get the death penalty, and the families never get peace.
Reply to this comment
by aggiekat2004 October 7, 2008 7:54 PM PDT
I wish my 4 grown children would appreciate me more as a parent. I was young and raised them on my own...and didn''t stab them, cook them in a microwave or tie them in a car headed for a lake. They never even call to see if I am still breathing. Guess I should thank God they don''t come and kill me. ------------------------------

In my own experience, the more my grandmother complained about anything and everything I did, the less I wanted to come visit.

My fiancee''s mother...when she learned we got engaged...said "well, tell him that I need him to come fix my computer before he gets married, because I''m never going to see him anymore." No congratulations, nothing...and we''re on good terms.

For those of you who have kids that don''t want to come visit...ask yourself a question. When your kids visit, do you guilt them about not coming more often? Do you berate them for things that they did in the past? Do you criticize them for gaining weight, bad job decisions, or anything else?

If you make it a happy visit, they will want to come back. If you feel pushback, then seriously look within yourself to see if there''s something YOU''RE doing that may make them not want to come around.
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by aggiekat2004 October 7, 2008 7:58 PM PDT
Oh, and one other thing.

My grandmother was so hateful to me my whole life...she was nice to my face but then told others horrible things about me. She returned every gift I ever gave her. She complained that I didn''t come to see her enough. Thank you-s for gifts had to be written...a phone call wasn''t good enough.

So about five years ago, I cut her off. I quit talking to her. It was too much effort for too little in return.

It took about two years, and she''s more pleasant now. But it took me a couple of years of therapy to realize that she had blown past my boundaries, and that effort in didn''t equal what I got back.
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by llcool43 October 8, 2008 9:42 AM PDT
From mydiatribe: "Schools are obligated to advise children of signs to look out for that their parents may be on the verge of a meltdown."

So now its the school''s fault. Schools can''t teach everything, they might as well be the parents. Like the neighbors and families have stated "there wasn''t any signs of killing" until this weekeend when the mother wasn''t herself, but how could anybody have known she would do this. Now that it has happened, everybody needs to advise their children of what signs to look out for cause you could be the next one - DON''t GET IT TWISTED! Schools aren''t obligated..where in the school code does it state that "schools/teachers are also psychiatrists". This is a tragic that we all can learn from and if you know of anybody that has xperienced the death of a loved one by way of a tragic death, than be there for them, stay in contact with them and beware of any abnormal behavior- better yet, just be a listening ear for them. Eventually, the more a person confides in someone, than the chances are greater that their underlying pain and feelings will surface.
STAY in TUNE!!
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by momoftwp October 8, 2008 12:07 PM PDT
Way too many ignorant comments on here to address them one by one. I doubt any of you actually understand mental illness. This woman was OBVIOUSLY not thinking in a rational manner. It''s easy for you all to sit back and say...."she should have done this" or "I could never do that" or "well, if her family/friends would have been paying more attention this wouldn''t have happened." IGNORANT- every last comment like this! You don''t understand what depression can do. You don''t understand how well people can mask things. You don''t understand any of it!

Of course I''m not saying this is all ok. It''s horrifying. My heart is breaking for the entire family. I cannot imagine feeling so lost and depressed that this would seem like the only option. The truth is, we have no clue what was going on in her life and in her mind. I will not cast judgements.
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by suemamma October 8, 2008 1:56 PM PDT
"Even if the story had 600 paragraphs telling every minute detail, there is absolutely no justification or excuse in killing children ,period."

I wasn''t trying to imply that any of what was done was justified, simply trying to understand where any sense of compassion has gone when it comes to others around us. We sit back and say "Oh, how awful. She must have been nuts to have done such a thing, what a horrible excuse for a mother." without even knowing why, as if it would make a difference in the outcome at this point. Either way the damage is done and we need not add insult to injury at anyone''s expense. I have 3 children of my own, a boy-4, 2 gilrs-7 and 9, so this really took me back. It kills me that children have to be drawn into their parents torment and can only hope that if this woman had felt there were any other choices, she would have gladly taken them over taking her life and the lives of her own children, but in this case obviously she didn''t. Children die too often at the hands of their parents and there is never any good that comes out of it and there certainly needn''t be more harm added to it for those left behind in the wake of it all. I am sure all three of them were loved and all three were lost and are grieved for. Why drag any of them through the mud, it only serves to perpetuate the rage and anguish it started with. May God rest their souls and bring peace to their families.
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