Sheriff: Md. dad who killed family had $450K debt

[sabra]

Source: AP

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A Maryland father who shot his wife and three children to death and then killed himself struggled with depression, had $450,000 in debt and nearly decapitated his kids after they had died, Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said Tuesday.

In six notes left behind, Christopher Wood, 34, discussed his family's severe financial problems and remorse for what he had done. Then, he committed suicide. A relative found the family Saturday in their Middletown home in northwest Maryland.

It was the first of two murder-suicides in Maryland in the last four days, and among a growing number nationwide in which a shooter killed family members in the wake of economic hardship.

Wood had a good job, making $97,000 a year as an account manager in the sales and marketing group at CSX Corp. in Baltimore. But the family couldn't sell their previous home in Florida, and they had credit card problems.

Wood shot his children — Chandler, 5, Gavin, 4, and Fiona, 2 — and his wife as they slept. He almost cut off his children's heads using a kitchen knife and pruning saw, the sheriff said.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4DN23PTD16n0kAY4oxgBYIb33egD97N40TO2

[UpInArms]

1. more info here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/21/AR2009042102484_pf.html

excerpt:

Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins said that about half of the family's debt came from credit cards. The Woods were unable to sell the home in Jacksonville, Fla., and their mortgage was "way beyond their capability to pay," he said.

Records show that the family bought the Florida home in 2005 with virtually no money down, taking on a $208,000 mortgage. The next year, the Woods took out a second mortgage for $108,000.

The bank that holds the initial mortgage filed foreclosure papers in October, records show.

...more...

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. Houston, we have a problem . .

.
.
.

Are the BFEE and PNAC gang happy with what they have wrought?

Sadly, if their coffers are full,

I think so . . .

(sigh)

[WriteDown]

9. So Bush made him take a 97K

a year job and then rack up 450K of debt. Something doesn't compute there.

[kirby]

15. Actually, it was the other way around...

He had just moved to Maryland in the past few months. The house/debt was from living in Florida.

Regardless, when someone wants out of this life, please just take yourself and leave others alone.

[bitchkitty]

3. Jesus!

There had to be some rage at the children there - kill them, then DECAPITATE them? Why didn't the sorry, narcissistic son of a bitch just kill himself?

$97,000 a year - he could have worked it out. No sympathy here - my income from SS is miniscule, and I'm fielding calls from bill collectors all the time, but do you see me killing my family?

I hate this guy.

[CountAllVotes]

4. he was one sick SOB

and he had financial problems to boot. *sigh*

:kick:

[cosmicone]

5. Agreed.

He could have easily done a loan workout or filed for bankruptcy. With a $97K job, he didn't have to worry about putting food on the table.

[Schema Thing]

8. seriously. If you're 450k in debt, you've obviously learned how to

take other people's money and use it as your own.


morality aside, seems like life should be a cake-walk for that type of person.

[theHandpuppet]

11. From what I recall...

I believe the local news here reported the wife also held a job. So these were not folks who weren't making enough to live on. How in hell did they become 450 thou in debt?

And I'm with you -- why do guys like this take it out on their families? Why don't these miserable SOB's begin and end the killing with themselves if they find life so unbearable?

[bertman]

14. Probably paying on a substantial mortgage for the house in Florida that wouldn't sell

and the mortgage on the house in Maryland, plus credit cards. That's $450k easy.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. I'm still flabbergasted by middle class people who rack up $20,000 in credit card bills

Outside severe medical issues, it's just unbelievable that anyone would allow that to happen.

$450,000? It's completely ridiculous.

Capitalism MAKES PEOPLE MENTALLY SICK.

[YOY]

6. Why would he cut off their heads?

Sick dude. Sick and sad old world...

[Egnever]

7. Why is it so hard for people to live within thier means

97k a year, What in the world was he buying with all that borrowed money?

[WriteDown]

10. Giant house, flat-screen TV's, BMW 7 series....

the list goes on and on.

[closeupready]

18. More importantly, who was lending him all that money that he obviously couldn't pay back?

??

[sinkingfeeling]

12. This was one sick SOB. The house in Florida would be a second home since they lived in Maryland. Who

put the gun to his head and forced him to buy house #2 and then take out a 150% equity loan on it? His problems weren't financial, they were mental.

[kirby]

16. Not true...

They had just moved to Maryland in the past few months. The house in Florida was one they were upside down on and unable to sell. The Maryland move was near the wifes family. 'downsizing'. The Maryland location they were renting. Their Florida home was in foreclosure. The company he worked for had plans to company buy it, but it fell through.

[Karenina]

13. The typical patriarchal end game...

My way or the highway...

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. Exactly right

Also the sick game of the commodity fetish: if my children can't have luxury cars and roof decks, they shouldn't live at all.

What a piece of shit.

There should be MANDATORY POOR TIME for all people in society. Anyone want to call it "reeducation," fucking fine. We NEED to be "reeducated" out of THIS TYPE OF SHIT, for sure.

MANDATORY POOR TIME. At least one year for everybody.

[Art_from_Ark]

26. You mean like an American version of the Cultural Revolution?

[depakid]

27. "MANDATORY POOR TIME"

That's known in some circles as college and graduate school....

[Delphinus]

28. In a lot of circles,

that's every day life.

[raccoon]

30. Sounds like a good idea to me. nt

[Dappleganger]

17. Wow.

We live just south of that area so it hits close to home. I don't understand how anyone would give them that much $$ in a loan after owning a mortgage, too? Did they also have a mortgage on the house in MD or was it just a rental?

Clearly they made very poor financial decisions but there's always a way out. They could have just allowed the house to go into foreclosure or go bankrupt, rent for a few years and save some money then be on their way. He was certainly making enough money for them to move on even if it would be at a slower pace.

I guess he couldn't see straight due to his mental problems--too bad the wife didn't figure that out and try to leave (did she?).

[marshall]

21. Provider Syndrome?

I've read about calling instances like this provider syndrome--men who are overwhelmed by the patriarchal expectation to support a family.

[WriteDown]

22. Yep, you can put that in the same folder as

quarter life crisis and sudden rich syndrome.

[Javaman]

23. Hmmm. let's see...

bankruptcy or kill my family and blow my brains out?

Decisions decisions.

I feel bad for everyone involved in this, including the shooter.

people paint themselves into a corner mentally and at that point fail to see the very viable alternatives.

sadly, I predict that there will be more to come.

[RedCloud]

24. Is this really on the increase or media just infatuated with it?

Deranged father killing one and all. How long has this shit been going on? What is its frequency? Do we hear more about it when the Democrats are in the White House to rally the falsely caring Republicans to cry lack of family values in Amerikkka?

It disgusts me every time I hear about this. No compassion for the guy but for all the rest totally selfish act what that prick did.

But I also suspect we hear more about this since Obama got to the White House.

[carlyhippy]

25. Is being in big debt something to kill themselves over?

File bankruptcy, walk away, it's credit, it shouldn't be treated as life or death, it's not worth it.

[RaRa]

29. It's not debt, it's severe depression. n/t

[raccoon]

31. I wonder if this man also had a substance abuse problem.

I suspect that he did.