Man kills four kids and himself in Murder Suicide, Merced

KSEE-NBC ^ | March 26, 2002 | KSEE-NBC

[FresnoDA]

Man kills four kids and himself in Merced murder-suicide
Four Merced children are dead after what police believe was a murder suicide. Just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, a man went to the home of his ex-wife at Lecco and Piedmont Streets in Northeast Merced, where he allegedly shot his own child, three other children in the home and himself. Merced County Sheriff's Deputies say the man's ex-wife, Christine McFadden, came back from a morning walk to find her ex-husband and her five-year-old daughter lying dead on the floor. McFadden went to a neighbor's house to call police, then returned home to find her three other children dead in other bedrooms. Authorities say the dead include the five-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl, and 14- and 15-year-old boys. Those three teenagers were not children of the man who apparently committed the murders. Police say the man had been living in Kern County. How, why and when he arrived in Merced are unanswered questions at this time.

[ValerieUSA]

Thank you for speaking up for this woman in this moment of unspeakable tragedy. The assumption that she is a loser because her children have different last names is appalling. I am a widow, if I remarry my last name will not be the same as my children's, but it doesn't mean I have not been a good wife or am out to destroy mens' lives.

[pillars]

She may be wonderful with animals, kind to children, a good friend to other females. But did you ever see her interact with her husband? Do you know why she has (apparently) had at least 3 husbands? Look, I know the woman is hurting in horrible ways we can't even imagine. I'm not saying that's right. I just want the point to be made that she very well may have provoked some of this. Did she see her ex as a worthwhile person, with the right to a life of his own? I just want all the facts. There have been too many cases of men who, with nowhere else to go, take their children's lives in the belief that that is the only way to protect them (and being the protector is how men are "wired"), then end their own lives, because they see no future for themselves. They have been so completely devalued by the women, and the courts have validated her claims, that death seems to be the only solution.

These tragedies are not going to stop until our government either gets the heck out of our personal lives, or the women of this country begin to value their men again.

[copycat]

Good news for you. 95% of the jobless out there are looking for something where they make big bucks for no work.

Just demonstrate to an employer that you have an old-fashioned work ethic and that you are willing to work hard for your pay, and you will be hired in no time.

There's slim pickin's for employers out there these days. Best of luck...

[copycat]

It is very unusual for a news story these days not to mention the type of gun used, or the words assault, semi-automatic, high-powered, etc etc.

There must be some reason the gun was not mentioned. I suspect it was a banned weapon that has been "removed" from Californians. At least in liberal utopia fantasy-land.

[quitwhining]

Yes, actually, I did know her as a wife. I knew both her and the first husband, who was also a vet. And she had two marriages total, one to Dr. Willis, with whom she had the three that were now the teenagers, and this one, Hogan, with whom she had the young daughter. There was not a vindictive bone in this womans body. She was happy to make the sacrifices necessary to be a good mom and wife. A straight, decent, good woman, wife, mother. And apropos nothing, she was beautiful and lovely; a warm nature and just kind, kind, kind. Pillars, your anger at 'woman who wreck men', which is often justified and which I often share, is clouding you here. You have nothing to go on other than this article, and you are being very quick to assume that she must, somehow, have 'deserved' this. I know you cant mean it. Pray for the men who are harmed by shallow and manipulative women, but pray for Dr. McFadden. She needs it now as much as any human can.

[pillars]

Please don't misunderstand me. I have compassion for anyone who would have to suffer such a terrible loss. It is more than I can fathom. But I will NOT make the man out to be some terrible brute, and heap all sympathy on her, without all of the facts. We cannot ignor the truth of how many men are reaching the breaking point by heartless, vindictive women, who set out to destroy their exes, with the government condoning her actions. Two separate issues: 1)sorrow for the loss of the children, and for their mother's grief. 2)sorrow for the man and the agony he must have endured to get to this point. Now, agruably, he may have just been a nut case. It happens. I just want to know the facts.

[pillars]

Ok. If you know this all to be true, I'll accept that. And I do extend my prayers for her, as well as the children and the man. If, indeed, he was just a nut case, this is all the sadder. But please, let's not now assume that ALL news stories of this sort (and there will be more) are like this one. We have to see that our court system, as it stands today, is destroying our families, and ultimately, our country.

[demnomo]

These tragedies are not going to stop until our government either gets the heck out of our personal lives, or the women of this country begin to value their men again.

I certainly hope that you are not married or have furthered your genes. You are downright scary, Mister. Do you really believe that there will be lots more men capable of brutally murdering innocents because they believe that their wives weren't treating them right or who don't want any government laws that protect families from abuse because it interferes with their "personal lives?" Your reasoning is deranged--as was this dispicable act. No excuses--not for that misrable mother Andrea Yates or this sadistic control-freak who murdered his own child and three other children in order to get back at his ex-wife!!!

[ValerieUSA]

But I will NOT make the man out to be some terrible brute,

Why not!? He just murdered four kids! He is a MURDERER - that counts as a terrible brute in my book. I am not making him out to be a brute - he did that himself.

[Egg]

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. [II Timothy 3:1-5]

[ellery]

The X woman didn't do enough,she could have prevented this!ISN'T THIS WHAT WE HEARD IN THE YATES CASE WHEN THE FEMINAZIS WANTED TO BLAME THE MAN?I just bet you won't hear that in this situation!

Um, if she had still been living with the guy, and he had had such severe mental illness that he was basically catatonic, and between catatonic episodes he did things like hold knives to his throat and reportedly even talk about killing the kids, and the wife nevertheless left the children alone in his custody...you're damn right I would be blaming her too. That's IN ADDITION to his blame.

[quitwhining]

I agree. I have two children and am now remarried to a man who has two children. Their mother has made my husbands life hell for years; took every dime; still hounds him. Their children, my stepchildren, suffer. I have seen many men deeply harmed by a court system that is skewed and damaging. But interestingly, I paid financially in my divorce; had to pay my ex-husbands tax debt, etc etc I am still digging myself out of the financial hell my ex husband put me through and there wasnt one legal thing I could do about it. The courts can wreak havoc both ways.

[demnomo]

Pray for the men who are harmed by shallow and manipulative women, but pray for Dr. McFadden. She needs it now as much as any human can.

Even the most shallow and manipulative woman's children don't deserve what this brute did to your friend's children. No excuses! Whoever does this sort of evil is a sadist and coward. No amount of justification about what women do to men or vice versa will wash away this horror.

My prayers are for Dr. McFadden and for all people who have been abused or taken advantage of. The Christian thing to do is to forgive and/or move on, not exact revenge by harming innocents...

[demnomo]

And he's a coward to boot...

[pillars]

Yep, married; yep, children; nope, not a mister! And yes, I do believe that there are many more men capable of this sort of act. MEN ARE NOT LIKE WOMEN. THEY ARE BUILT (inside and out) COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. But I do not believe that most men would snap just because "their wives weren't treating them right" or because they see government laws meant to protect families from abuse interfering with their personal lives. I am saying that when women strip men of their masculinity, then hold them hostage financially, deprive them of being fathers to their children, humiliate and torment them, all with government approval, so that the men cannot fight back, eventually they may snap. Obviously, the vast majority do not get to that point; they just go through their lives feeling miserable, demasculated, manipulated, used, and broke.

I'm not making any excuses in this particular case. As quitwhining has shown, it may be that this horrendous thing has happened to a decent, caring woman, by a sick, deranged man. My point, though, is that that is not always the case. No excuses for this guy (yet why do you assume he was a "control freak"?) or for Andrea Yates. But if there is something we can do to lessen the number of times we hear of such incidences-like revamping our court family systems, and regaining respect for men for being men-we should take the opportunity of it being in our collective conscious's and act on it.

[Mr. K]

yeah, but what do you do when you get divorced and the court appointed doctor finds that one person is a diagnosed psychopath, and then the judge gives them to the diagnosed psychopath...(their mother) taking them OUT of the fathers home to do it...

[ellery]

I'm sorry to hear about your job. Prayers for you and family, and hopes for speedy new employment...

[RobRoy]

Regarding your post #68. Sorry, Pillars makes perfect sense to me. I don't think you're really responding to what Pillars typed so much as what you think he/she meant. And after reading Pillars post several times, I don't think he/she meant it the way you are interpretting the words.

Just a thought.

[flyervet]

Maybe you're right and this man snapped because he was being deprived of his daughter by his ex-wife.

Now explain why he killed three other children who weren't his. Do you believe he was being deprived of his ex-step children?

[Saundra Duffy]

Oh, my God!!!!!! The crime rate in California is going UP UP UP.