Father Kills Three Kids, Wife, Self
Repost
Father Kills Three Kids, Wife, Self
READING, Pa. (AP) - A distraught man shot and killed his wife and three
of
their children today, and then killed himself, authorities said.
The man called 911 around 10 a.m., told the operator he could not take
it
anymore and said he had just shot his family, said Sandra Haller, a
supervisor
at the Berks County emergency communication center.
``He admitted to it and then we lost contact,'' she said.
The parents and two of the children were dead when police arrived at
their home
in Muhlenberg Township, outside Reading in southeastern Pennsylvania,
Haller
said.
The third child, who was 5 years old, died shortly before noon at
Reading
Hospital, said nursing supervisor Carol Kerstetter.
The victims' identities were not immediately released.
AP-NY-01-01-00
Repost
Father Kills Three Kids, Wife, Self
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON
READING, Pa. (AP) - A machine-shop foreman shot and killed his wife and
her
three children on Saturday, then called 911 to admit to the slayings
before
committing suicide, authorities said.
The bodies of Henry Peffer, 46, and his wife, Kimberly, 27, were found
in a
breakfast nook in their modest brick home, said coroner John Lampros.
Mrs. Peffer's three children - ages 5, 8 and 13 - were found together in
an
upstairs bedroom, Lampros said. Two were dead when police arrived. The
youngest
died at a hospital.
Police described the murder weapon as a revolver.
When Peffer called 911, he told operators that he could not take it any
more
and had just shot his family.
``He admitted to it, and then we lost contact,'' said Sandra Haller, a
supervisor at the Berks County emergency communication center in
Reading.
Whatever drove Peffer to murder his family remained a mystery to his
relatives
and friends on Saturday.
``He was always very happy and we had talked recently,'' said his
brother, Jim
Orrs. ``Nothing seemed to be wrong.''
He said the couple had married a year ago.
``The kids played outside all the time and everything seemed just
fine,'' said
Barbara Hoffman, who lives across the street. ``They had a Christmas
tree and
were a very nice couple, always very nice to talk to.''
Neighbors identified the children as Tiffany Schaffer, Dustin Kline and
Jerod
Kline.
Melanie Shuker, 10, a neighbor and classmate of Dustin's said the boy
had
complained that his father was strict.
``He said that his dad would really, really yell at him if he didn't
clean his
room,'' she said. ``When he talked about it, he seemed really scared and
I
thought that was weird.''
The owner of the Edwin H. Zacharias Machine Works Co. in Reading, where
Peffer
had worked for about 20 years and where his father worked before him,
said
Peffer was ``normally very even-tempered'' and showed no sign of
emotional
problems at work.
Edwin H. Zacharias Jr. recalled how Peffer had patiently cared for his
former
wife before she died of a brain tumor several years ago.
At the Garden Family Restaurant in Reading where Mrs. Peffer worked as a
waitress, manager Paul Houvadas said there were no outward signs of
trouble.
``She seemed happily married,'' Houvadas said. ``Just the other day,
they were
in here laughing and talking and he took her home.''
AP-NY-01-01-00
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 1/1/00 online edition of The
WXAU-TV,
local Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NBC-TV affiliate station web site:
New Year’s tragedy leaves family dead
READING, PA Jan. 1 — A distraught man who shot and killed his wife and
three
children called 911 to admit to the slayings before taking his own life
this
morning.
THE VICTIMS were identified as Henry Peffer, 46; his wife,
Kimberly,
27; and her three children from previous marriages: Tiffany Schaffer,
who was
about 13; Dustin Kline, who was 7 or 8; and Jerod Kline, 5.
The shootings occurred shortly after 10 o’clock Saturday morning.
The
Peffers and the two older children were dead when police arrived at the
family’s Muhlenberg Township home, said Sandra Haller, a supervisor at
the
Berks County emergency communication center in Reading.
The youngest child died shortly before noon as doctor tried to save
his
life in the emergency room at Reading Hospital, said nursing supervisor
Carol
Kerstetter.
Peffer told 911 operators that he simply could not take it any more
and
that he had just shot his family.
“He admitted to it, and then we lost contact,” Haller said.
The adults’ bodies were found in a breakfast area and the children’s
bodies
were together in an upstairs bedroom, said John Lampros, the chief
deputy
coroner for Berks County.
The couple were married a year ago, and Henry Peffer was employed at
a
machine shop in Reading, said his brother, Jim Orrs, 49, of Reading, who
was at
the scene this afternoon.
“He was always very happy and we had talked recently,” Orrs said.
“Nothing
seemed to be wrong.”
While detectives combed the house for evidence, other residents in
the
neighborhood of mostly small, brick homes said they saw no indications
of
trouble before the shooting.
“The kids played outside all the time and everything seemed just
fine,”
said Barbara Hoffman, who lives across the street and stood outside
watching
detectives work. “They had a Christmas tree and were a very nice couple,
always
very nice to talk to.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 1/1/00 online edition of The
Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper:
4:36 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, 2000
Distraught father kills wife, 3 children and self at Reading-area home
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON
Associated Press
READING, Pa. - A machine-shop foreman who was alternately described as
a
family man and a strict stepfather shot and killed his wife and her
three
children on New Year's Day, then called 911 to admit to the slayings
before
ending his own life, authorities said.
The bodies of Henry Peffer, 46, and his wife, Kimberly, 27, were found
in a
breakfast nook downstairs in their modest brick home, said Berks County
Chief
Deputy Coroner John Lampros. The bodies of Mrs. Peffer's three children
from
previous marriages were found together in an upstairs bedroom, Lampros
said.
Neighbors identified the children as Tiffany Schaffer, about 13; Dustin
Kline,
about 8; and Jerod Kline, 5.
About two dozen neighbors, some of whom were crying, gathered outside
the
Muhlenberg Township house on the outskirts of Reading as police removed
bodies
from the home early Saturday afternoon. They also took two dogs from the
home
to an animal shelter.
The shootings occurred about 10 a.m. The Peffers and the two older
children
were dead when police arrived, said Sandra Haller, a supervisor at the
Berks
County emergency communication center in Reading.
The youngest child died shortly before noon as an emergency room team at
Reading Hospital tried to save him, said nursing supervisor Carol
Kerstetter.
When he called 911, Peffer told operators that he could not take it any
more
and that he had just shot his family.
"He admitted to it, and then we lost contact," Haller said.
"We think it's a murder-suicide," said township police Chief Robert M.
Flanagan, who described the murder weapon only as a revolver. "All
evidence,
including where the bodies were positioned, indicates that. The position
of the
casings and shells also indicates that."
Whatever drove Peffer to murder his family remained a mystery to his
relatives
and friends Saturday.
The couple were married a year ago, said his brother, Jim Orrs, 49, of
Reading,
who was at the scene Saturday afternoon.
"He was always very happy and we had talked recently," Orrs said.
"Nothing
seemed to be wrong."
"The kids played outside all the time and everything seemed just fine,"
said
Barbara Hoffman, who lives across the street. "They had a Christmas tree
and
were a very nice couple, always very nice to talk to."
A neighbor who was a classmate and friend of Dustin's had a different
impression of Peffer.
Melanie Shuker, 10, said Dustin often talked to her about his father's
strictness.
"He said that his dad would really, really yell at him if he didn't
clean his
room," she said. "When he talked about it, he seemed really scared and I
thought that was weird."
Another friend of Dustin's, Noel Diem, 9, recalled happily singing
Christmas
songs with him on the last day of school before Christmas vacation.
"It seemed like he expected to have a good Christmas. I can't believe
someone
would do something so terrible to kids," she said.
The owner of the Edwin H. Zacharias Machine Works Co. in Reading, where
Peffer
had worked for about 20 years and where his father worked before him,
said
Peffer was "normally very even-tempered" and showed no sign of emotional
problems at work.
Edwin H. Zacharias Jr. recalled how Peffer had patiently cared for his
former
wife while she was dying of a brain tumor several years ago.
"He just did a fantastic job of nursing her through a very declining
situation," he said.
"This was his first Christmas with his new family," said Zacharias, who
learned
about the tragedy when a reporter called him to ask about Peffer.
At the Garden Family Restaurant in Reading, manager Paul Houvadas was
waiting
for Mrs. Peffer to show up for her waitress job when he also heard the
news
from a reporter.
"She seemed happily married," Houvadas said. "Just the other day, they
were in
here laughing and talking and he took her home."