Daycare operator hinted at marital problems before double murder-suicide Wednesday
About two weeks ago, a parent connected to an in-home daycare in Hopkins said that she received a notice from the owner. The owner intended to close due to relationship troubles with her husband.
This week, that man killed her, their seven-year-old daughter and a 78-year-old relative before taking his own life.
The possibility of marital trouble is one of several details revealed in a search warrant related to the domestic violence murders carried out in two cities on Wednesday morning. While the document contains names of those involved, WCCO is not reporting them here to allow authorities to contact next of kin.
According to the document, a man was dropping off his two children at the day care on the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North when he heard the sound of children screaming from inside. He told police that when he entered the back door, which is the typical drop-off point, he witnessed the male suspect stabbing his wife and his daughter with a screwdriver.
From there, the man—who called 911—said that he grabbed his own children and two others and fled. He said that he got the notice about the woman intending to close the daycare due to "relationship issues" with the suspect about two weeks ago.
Investigators said that the six other children inside the home did not suffer physical injuries. They found the victims on the bottom floor, but said that the man was on the top-level of the home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A shotgun was still in his hand, according to the search warrant.
Prior to the events in Hopkins, investigators believe the man killed his 78-year-old relative at her home in Burnsville. He had been living there temporarily.
Police are still trying to pin down a motive. The idea that the relationship was ending sets off alarm-bells for experts like Nikki Engel, who serves as the Co-Executive Director of Violence Free Minnesota.
"Attempts to leave a relationship are associated with higher rates of lethality," Engel said.
While there are plenty of unknowns, Engel said that the horrific acts carried out in Hopkins and Burnsville are in-line with available data about family murder-suicides.
Violence Free Minnesota has tracked at least 231"intimate partner violence related homicide-suicides" in Minnesota since 1989. Of the 231 perpetrators, 229 were men; 207 of the victims were women killed by a current or former male partner.
"How do we bring into public conversation the role of male entitlement and misogyny? Because if we're going to solve this issue we have to diagnose it accurately, or we're never going to get to the solution," Engel said.
Engel said it's also not uncommon for other family members to be targeted. What stands out to her in this case as a statistical anomaly is the stabbings; according to Violence Free Minnesota, a gun is used in 85 percent of intimate partner homicide-suicides.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline at 1-800-799-SAFE or Minnesota Day One at 1-866-223-1111.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
