Murder-suicide stuns Peabody
E/C Annie
and no husband to try to figure out why.............. annie
Murder-suicide stuns Peabody
As investigation continues, friends, family mourn 3 lives
By Scott Allen and Cristina Silva, Globe Staff | June 25, 2006
PEABODY -- George D. Kalogeropoulos considered himself an
underachiever, but an honest one. ``I don't have time to lie," the
25-year-old wrote in his profile on MySpace.com. He dreamed of having
children one day, and the gallery of pictures he posted on the website
show him smiling with friends and family, including two photos with his
father, Demetrios .
Yesterday, the scarlet SUV in which the younger Kalogeropoulos shot
himself remained parked in the driveway of his parents' gray two-story
home, splotches of blood covering the steering wheel and the driver's
side seat. Inside the house, authorities say, Kalogeropoulos stabbed
his 52-year-old father on Friday, as well as his 23-year-old sister
Joanne , before turning a gun on himself. Kalogeropoulos's mother,
Marina, discovered the scene when she came home shortly before 2:30
p.m.
``We don't know how this could happen," said a tearful man who
identified himself as Marina Kalogeropoulos's brother as he stood
outside the house. Marina was holding up as well as she could, he said.
``Not only did she lose a husband, she lost her two children," he said.
``We can't talk about it yet. It is too much."
Peabody police declined to speculate on a reason for the double
slaying, releasing a statement that said ``the motive remains under
investigation." Kalogeropoulos had no criminal record, police said, and
he had a license to carry the silver handgun found at his feet, as well
as three other guns.
Neighbors said they did not notice anything unusual about the family,
which appeared to be just another hard-working immigrant family in the
diverse neighborhood of multi-story brick homes and long driveways.
Marina owned a hair salon in Danvers, neighbors said, while her
daughter was a customer service representative at the Sports Authority
in a Danvers mall.
Yesterday, Maria Rodrigues , who lives next door to the Kalogeropoulos
family, stared into the family's yard from her front porch and
described how on Friday morning she had seen Demetrios Kalogeropoulos
in his backyard, taking out the trash. He waved to her, and then went
back inside the house, she said.
But that afternoon, she heard the sound of gunshots and then the
blaring of what sounded like a car alarm or horn, she said.
``The son was in the car, his body crumpled over the steering wheel,
and there was some noise, like the horn, or something," Rodrigues said
yesterday .
Joshua Roberts , a close friend of Joanne Kalogeropoulos, said he had
met her brother several times, but had rarely spoken with him.
``He was a really good kid," he said. ``I never asked her about her
family stuff. I never expected anything like this to happen."
George Kalogeropoulos last logged into his MySpace.com profile on
Thursday. The site gives few indications of deep personal trouble. He
portrays himself as a somewhat cynical person who is suspicious of
``fake people." He lists himself as a 1999 graduate of Veterans
Memorial High School in Peabody, which neighbors confirmed, but he also
lists himself as having graduated from the University of Rhode Island
with a Ph.D., a claim that could not be verified. He lists his
occupation as ``nuclear pharmacist."
The profile includes only a couple of minor depictions of violence,
including an image of actor Al Pacino holding a gun for his role in
``Scarface" and a video clip of a cat knocking down a toddler. Instead,
Kalogeropoulos comes across as exceptionally proud of his Greek
heritage -- his screen name is ``Grecian Prince" -- as well as of his
friends and family. In one group picture, both father and son smile for
the camera.
Joanne , who Roberts said graduated with a degree in fashion from
Newbury College in Brookline, had dreamed of moving to Los Angeles or
New York and becoming a successful fashion designer.
She had worked at the Sports Authority for seven years, her manager
said.
``She was always smiling," said Roberts, as he sat yesterday outside
the Sunbanque tanning salon in Beverly, where he works and she was a
frequent customer. ``She was always so sweet. . . . She was really
close with her family, especially her mom."
On workdays, Joanne often visited her mother, who ran Marina's Hair
Salon, across from the mall where her daughter worked . There, the
employees were so distraught that none showed up for work yesterday,
said Lou Rosenberg , a store manager. Temporary employees were brought
in from other Sports Authority stores in the area.
Yesterday a somber sign in the window of the salon read: ``Due to a
sudden family tragedy, the shop will be closed until further notice."
The grief was palpable on Joanne's MySpace.com profile. Among the 50
people who had posted messages since the deaths was one from a friend
named Gina King: ``Joanne, this breaks my heart. Just to think that you
and I were on the phone making plans the night before this happened. .
. . You were a wonderful and good person. . . . I miss you already, and
I haven't stopped crying since this happened. Rest in peace, friend."