Photo: West Virginia Department of Corrections
A West Virginia man allegedly fatally shot his wife and daughter on Monday before turning the gun on himself.
Alicia’s husband, 28-year-old Donald Thomas, was also found dead inside the home next to a gun authorities believe he used in an apparent double murder-suicide, the sheriff’s office said.
The couple’s 1-year-old daughter Lona was also inside the home, alive but in critical condition. She was airlifted to a children’s hospital, where she underwent surgery to remove a bullet from her head.
She is currently listed as critically stable and in the hospital’s ICU, according to the sheriff’s office.
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In a news conference on Monday, Humphreys said that local relatives discovered the family after no one had heard from them for several days.
Alicia’s mom, Tracy Miller, hadn’t heard from her daughter since the Thursday prior but knew she was planning on moving out of the home, she told WHSV.
Seven 911 calls had been made to the residence over the last year, though only one was related to domestic violence, Humphreys told reporters. The others were related to financial crimes, harassment, and neighbor disputes.
In February, Donald Thomas was charged with domestic battery. However, the charges were dropped in June after Alicia failed to appear in court, Humphreys said during the news conference.
On Wednesday, Miller said her daughter did not appear in court “because she was afraid.”
“We knew he was going to kill my daughter,” Miller told WHSV. “He has been hurting her for years.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
