Hotel murders
Baltimore County police are now calling the deaths of four people found in a room at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson a murder-suicide. Authorities released the names of the victims but have not yet said how they died.
And once again, a family tragedy has occurred on the 10th floor of a Baltimore area hotel room. In March 2008, three children were drowned in a bathtub in a 10th floor room at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor and Camden Yards. The latest deaths on Monday also occurred in a 10th floor room. And just days after another family was slain Western Maryland, police say by a man who left notes by the bodies of his wife and three children before killing himself.
And in Elkton on Monday, police said a newlywed shot her husband, critically wounding him, and then took her own life in their home on East Philadelphia Road.
I've been covering cops a long time and I haven't seen this many families wiped out in such a short period of time. Maybe it's the economy, but I suspect that's too simple an answer, though stress has never been higher. I hope authorities in Frederick, Baltimore and Cecil counties come up with some answers, and I'm sure as in all these cases we'll learn of signs we missed that might've prevented these deaths.
We'll have more information after a news conference planned by Baltimore County police later this morning. Here is the latest from police:
Police Release Identifications in Precinct 6/Towson Murder/Suicide
Four Bodies Found in Room at Towson Sheraton
Baltimore County Police have identified the four bodies found in a hotel room at the Sheraton in Towson, MD. Their bodies were discovered by hotel staff at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, April 20. They are identified as William Parente, 59, Betty Parente, 58, Stephanie Parente, 19, and Catherine Parente, 11, of the unit-block of First Street, Garden City, NY, 11530.
Detectives are continuing their investigation as a murder/suicide. The bodies of the Parente family have been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore where autopsies will be conducted of the bodies some time today. Investigators are not releasing the causes or manner of deaths until after the completion of the autopsies.
Comments
I wouldn't be surprised if SSRI antidepressants were involved. This seems to be the commom denominator in these types of killings & school shootings.
Posted by: Scoots826 | April 21, 2009 1:54 PM
It may sound cold, but I wish people who were intent on killing themselves would leave other people out of it. Too many times lately we've had angry, depressed, irrational people taking it out on others, sometimes with those others being their family. Then killing themselves. As far as "missing signs" go, there aren't always signs. It doesn't appear that way in regards to the Middleton Killings- where the wife on her blog said she was happy and trying to help her husband through a tough time at CSX.
Posted by: Wiley Poster | April 21, 2009 2:20 PM
Too many crazy idiots these days. RELAX, people.
Posted by: Dan in B-more, hon. | April 21, 2009 3:07 PM
this is speculative, but I wonder if the rage being stoked by angry rightwing talk show guys, etc and the atmosphere it creates could be a factor in some of these. These guys really don't like it when their side loses a fair election, like in 1992 and 2006-8 and they don't spend any time thinking about what their unchecked rage might lead to. Unchecked rage= good ratings=$ is their guiding star.
Posted by: newageblues | April 21, 2009 7:55 PM
If hard times is the cause of people killing themselves along with family members maybe because they are used to living a very lucrative lifestyle while most low income people will survive the economy woes.
Posted by: Eric | April 21, 2009 8:02 PM
SSRI's do not cause people to kill, but people with serious mental illness are more often associated with crimes and people with serious mental illness often take medication, including SSRI's. The common denominator may be severe depression or mental illness exacerbated by financial stress, but to state that the actual medication caused or influenced such a tradegy is naive and frankly, uneducated. Drugs do not kill people, but people do.
Posted by: Susan | April 21, 2009 10:11 PM
I think blaming rightwing talk show hosts is pushing it. I can't see how there is any connection. While I may go as far as to agree violence in video games, movies, and other media may give people ideas or make them less sensitive to violence. How does someone being upset their guy didn't get elected translate into having people go an kill themselves and their family? Not everything is the fault of the right wing.
Posted by: hddrmom | April 22, 2009 5:13 PM
www.NationalSecurityWatchdog.com
Posted by: NationalSecurityWatchdog.com | April 23, 2009 12:56 AM
How does one candidate winning/losing an election equate to this situation? Sounds like the poster might want to seek medical mental health care.
Posted by: Dave | April 23, 2009 2:56 PM
When a horrific crime like this happens in a hotel room, I wonder what they do with it - who would want to stay in that room anymore??
Posted by: Rocco | April 27, 2009 10:49 AM
If one wants to kill himself, he is more than welcome, but killing the wife and children???? They have to realize they are not God. They don't have the right to take anyone's life.
Research is the only way to go. If women were to kill one fifth of what men have killed so far, there would have been a research to no end. Not everything is testosterone. There must be a gene in there...
Women are tested for Down's syndrome in pregnancy (the mildest people on Earth), but we have no clue as to which man will turn into serial killer, which one will shoot half the school, mall or family.
These men come from all layers of society, so environment cannot be used to cover our eyes any more.
We have to start putting money into research fund. Otherwise, we have become calloused to news like these. The more we hear, the more we brush them off.
Men have killed more women and children than all the wars since the beginning of civilization combined.
TIME TO START DOING SOMETHING.
Posted by: MD | April 27, 2009 11:37 PM
SSRIs are involved in these bizarre killing sprees. Cops are even onto this. For example: It was in the local York paper that the man who shot up the Amish school had gone to a natural food store days before the shooting complaining that the antidepressant that the dr had put him on made him dream bizarre, blood bath dreams and that he could not tell reality from non-reality. Look up other horrible stories about this stuff. No--not everyone is affected this way---but the ones who go off were the ones who were. Drs should stop giving them out like candy & follow up on their patients.
Posted by: Scoots826 | June 8, 2009 5:54 PM
So many crime. We are scared. All we need to do is pray.
Posted by: Brisbane Hotels | September 5, 2009 1:44 AM