A Missouri girl, 4-year-old, pretended to be asleep while her father opened fire and killed her mother, her half-brother and then committed suicide in their house on Thursday.
One of the neighbors who heard the gunshots called the police to warn them to go check the house on Hoyte drive, at St. Louis suburb in Missouri. When police arrived at the mentioned address, they found three dead bodies inside. The girl who was unharmed and pretended to be asleep in the house told the police officers that when she went to the living room earlier that day, her father told her to go back to her room. A few minutes later, she heard several shots fired after her.
According to Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Chief Jeremy Ihler, the victims are Katrine Banks, 31, her son Kevin Johnson, 15, and the shooter Dornubari Dugbor, 31, who she got engaged to a month ago.
Police did not identify the caller’s name as he called from Dugbor’s cell phone. Dugbor was found slumped on a couch with a cell phone in his hand and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his lap. The authorities believe that Dugbor first shot Banks, then her son who entered the living-room and then put the gun under his chin and shot himself.
Katrice Noble, a family friend, told KSDK that the couple knew each other from childhood and they started having an affair through a church group, right after Banks had a son. Noble spoke nice words about Banks, how smart and active she was at school. She was a caring and committed person to her family, community, and the world.
The motive for suicide is still unclear. The young girl will be under the custody of her relatives.