Family murder/suicide in Florida with detailed notes
Jen1orbit
Hello,
Interesting family murder-suicide story out of West Palm Beach, Florida.
A 72 year old man shot his 49 year old wife and 8 year old son to death,
before killing himself. Both he and his wife left detailed notes
explaining why they were doing this. It's obvious from the notes that the
49 year old wife, Marcia, knew that her husband was going to kill her. Not
only that, she also knew he was going to kill their 8 year old son! The
mother, Marcia Mcintosh, wrote about her impending sons murder "There has
been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey, and I, that
Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden upon
another". Jeffrey being their 8 year old son. Way to go, Mom! There's a
gal worthy of the "mother of the year" award......not!
So all three of them are now dead. The 72 year old apparently was
despondent over financial difficulties, but the family lived in a $350,000
home. Just the equity alone should have provided a sufficient income to
live on, if the Mcintosh family of three had been willing to scrimp and
save....
Interestingly, it appears that there was an earlier murder/suicide
attempt where 72 year old Bob Mcintosh tried to use the old car exhaust
method.... But 8 year old Jeffrey apparently woke up and talked his 2
parents out of going through with the murder/suicide! Most fascinating
story! At least the 2 parents left detailed notes, I always hate it when
people engage in a large scale murder/suicide and fail to leave a detailed
explanation of WHY they did it!
I will probably follow up on this case, if I find additional relevant
information.
Take care, JOE
Courtesy of the AP news wire:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Just two months after their 8-year-old son
talked them out of a family suicide, Marcia McIntosh climbed into the
boy's bed and her husband shot them both in the head before killing
himself.
Monday's bloodbath was meticulously planned, down to Post-it notes pasted
on toys and furniture to indicate who should inherit them, police said.
The motivation: Bob McIntosh's financial difficulties and his battle with
alcoholism.
``There was nothing to indicate that Marcia was anything but a willing
participant in this tragedy,'' police spokeswoman Dena Peterson. ``She was
holding rosary beads, and on the nightstand alongside the bed was a prayer
card next to a family photograph.''
Notes found in their $350,000 lakefront home described their earlier
suicide attempt, police said Thursday. McIntosh carried his sleeping son
to the family car, where a hose ran from a window to the exhaust of
another running car in the garage. Jeffrey awoke and talked his parents
out of it.
``It was the most awful day of our lives,'' McIntosh wrote. ``Jeffrey ...
missed school that day, the only day he has missed all year. He has never
said a word about that day since.''
McIntosh, 72, had been a success in Toronto real estate in the 1960s and
in Florida in the 1970s. Police said he lost his wealth in the 1980s,
became despondent and drank heavily.
McIntosh had three adult children - two sons and a daughter - from a
previous marriage. In one of the notes reported today by The Miami Herald,
he blamed his son Robert for helping oust him from a business partnership.
``Our intentions were to die on Jan. 8, your birthday! We wanted you to
remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of love and
compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.
``I am dead now Bob, so do a dead man a favor! Since we literally have no
money, pay for our cremations.''
The newspaper said it could not reach Robert McIntosh or his attorney for
comment. Stephen Plunkett, Marcia's brother, said simply ``I don't
understand,'' and burst into tears.
Marcia McIntosh, 49, also left a letter attempting to explain why they
took their young son's life.
``This is not easy for me to write! I have been sick to my stomach for
months, waking up and going to sleep with the thought of what was to
happen on March 17!'' she wrote.
``There has been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey and
I, that Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden
upon another.''
AP-NY-03-21-97
Jen1orbit
Hello,
Here is a more detailed news report on this interesting case out of West
Palm Beach, Florida in which a 72 year oild man killed his 49 year old
wife and 8 year old son. This article provides additional quotes from the
suicide note that Bob Mcintosh left behind, plus more interestingly
deranged comments from his 49 year old wife, Marcia, who knew and accepted
the fact that hubby Bob would kill her and their son, before he killed
himself.
This article is from the online edition of The Miami Herald newspaper:
Anguish destroys an entire family
Letters show despair of parents over deteriorating finances
By LORI ROZSA
Herald Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH -- An 8-year-old boy thwarted the car asphyxiation
suicide of his parents 10 weeks ago, missed one day of school, and never
said a
word.
This week his millionaire father, a tormented alcoholic, walked into the
bedroom of
his sleeping son -- and shot him to death with a .22 caliber handgun.
Then he killed the boy's mother, a willing victim, as she lay beside her
son, clasping
her rosary beads in her hands.
And, finally, he shot himself, seated in a chair a few feet away.
The suicide notes of Robert and Marcia McIntosh are words of agony and
sadness.
``On January 8th, at four in the morning, I brought Jeffrey to the garage
and the
three of us were in the car with a hose from one car to other and then
Jeffrey woke
up and for all of his 8 years he knew what was going on,'' Bob McIntosh,
74, a
once successful Toronto developer, wrote in a suicide note typed by his
wife, 49.
``He begged us to stop and we did. It was the most awful day of our lives.
You
could see the windows turning blue from the fumes. We all went upstairs to
bed
(together) and Jeffrey managed to go back to sleep for four hours. He
missed
school that day, the only he has missed all year. He has never said a word
about
that day since.''
They left the note, one of four, in an envelope addressed to The Palm
Beach Post.
Carefully planned
Obviously, the McIntoshes had carefully planned the family suicide for a
long while,
police said.
Their elaborate scheme: tidying up their $350,000 home, and sticking
Post-It notes
on everything they wanted to give away, from Jeffrey's hockey sticks to
the family
silver.
They even left a Post-It note on the patio door for the pool man, who came
to
work as scheduled Monday morning. That note instructed him to call police.
If he had chanced to miss the note, the McIntoshes had a back-up --
another
Post-It stuck up at the housekeeper's entrance.
The medical examiner estimates the trio died around 3:30 a.m. Monday. All
were
found in their pajamas in Jeffrey's room, the weapon at Robert McIntosh's
side.
`Not easy'
``This is not easy for me to write! I have been sick to my stomach for
months,
waking up and going to sleep with the thought of what was to happen on
March
17th!'' Marcia McIntosh, wrote in a letter addressed only to ``Dear . . .
''
Financial woes and problems with family and friends made them suicidal,
she said.
She tries to explain why she and her husband thought it best to kill their
son.
``There has been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey and
I,
that Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden
upon
another,'' Marcia wrote.
``How could Jeffrey live a normal life with the thought of his parents
killing
themselves? How could he go on to live a normal life for himself or for
the one who
would raise him?''
Family photos
In an envelope for The Palm Beach Post, she stuffed family photos and
wrote:
``This will be a headline and I am sorry to have to be it.'' She said the
story of their
deaths could be found in another letter, dictated by her husband, that she
typed.
``The Message here is to love your children and educate them but keep your
business in your name and all the shares.''
She penned in ``Also Know what Tough Love is,'' and advice to the
newspaper --
``Do what you want with this info. Don't print any story -- Ok with me.''
In a five-page, anguished diatribe addressed to his eldest son, Robert
McIntosh Jr.,
the elder McIntosh wrote about betrayal and rejection by his other family,
the sons
he had in an earlier marriage.
Neither the son nor his attorney could be reached for comment.
``The last six years have been nothing but distress and sadness and
heartache,''
wrote the elder McIntosh.
Boom to bust
McIntosh, a Canadian who came to Florida in the 1970s, did well
financially in the
lucrative construction boom in Palm Beach County. He became a millionaire,
and
shared his wealth and business insight with his sons, Robert and Jim.
But the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s hit him hard, McIntosh said
in his letter.
And he started drinking hard.
``I sold my boat, airplane, the house in Aspen, the condo in Boca . . .
and anything
that would produce cash to SUPPORT OUR THREE HOMES,'' his letter reads.
Money matters got worse, he wrote, and so did his drinking.
Associates Peter Cowie and Don Bainbridge, who was best man at his wedding
to
Marcia in 1982, agreed, with his son Robert, to oust him from their
business
partnership, he wrote.
Friends suggested he declare bankruptcy and send Marcia to work.
``She has talents but no money making ability,'' he wrote. ``She looked
into the
Dept. Stores and they pay $5.50 an hour.''
The couple put their house up for sale last year. Marcia leased a Cadillac
after they
sold her other car to pay for roof repairs.
``My car is 10 years old, has needed new tires for a year, the ceiling is
falling down
inside and numerous other things,'' he complained in the letter. ``Bob, we
have had
no money!''
The first four pages of the suicide letter to his son were written Jan. 7,
the day
before McIntosh planned to kill his family, the day one of their business
properties
was foreclosed on.
``Our intentions were to die on January 8th, your birthday! We wanted you
to
remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of love and
compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.''
That was the night young Jeffrey intervened.
Neighbor Lynette Ostrander, shocked at the deaths, called Jeff ``a lovable
boy.''
Previous suicide try
McIntosh also tried to kill himself last November, slitting his wrists.
That attempt
resulted in family therapy sessions, but they did no good, he said.
His last words in the letter to his son ask him to pay debts to Marcia's
family.
``I am dead now Bob, so do a dead man a favor!'' he wrote. ``Since we
literally
have no money, pay for our cremations.''
Dena Peterson, spokeswoman for the West Palm Beach Police Department,
said,
``Obviously they weren't thinking rationally. You wouldn't kill your
family over
something like that. Life is more precious than money.''
Stephen Punkett, Marcia's brother, said simply, ``I don't understand,''
and burst
into tears.
doug haire
Since I live in the area, I am well aware of this murder-suicide. You have
the facts correct about the events. Both parents were involved and wiling
participants. The only unwilling victim was the child. You do not
understand financial problems apparently and think that a person with a
$350,000 home must surely have equity in the home and sufficient financial
assets to handle anything. However, that is not the case here. We don't
know how heavily the home was mortgaged nor much in the way of details but
his main business property was being foreclosed on and it appears that he
was headed into a major bankruptcy. It's likely that he would not be able
to keep the home... not because it could be taken in bankruptcy
proceedings, Florida law protects against that, but because he would be
unable to make the payments.
My guess is that the father, at age 72, felt that he would be unable to
rebuild any kind of decent life after his assets were wiped out and his
wife, who appeared to be completely devoted to him, did not want to go on
living without him. Sadly, they also made the same decision for their son.
One neighbor, who was close to the child, expressed her sadness that the
parents did not leave the child in her care.
I find it odd that you repeat, over and over again, the man's age but then
you seem a bit odd about everything anyway...
Jen1orbit (jen1...@aol.com) wrote:
: Hello,
:
: Interesting family murder-suicide story out of West Palm Beach, Florida.
: A 72 year old man shot his 49 year old wife and 8 year old son to death,
: before killing himself. Both he and his wife left detailed notes
: explaining why they were doing this. It's obvious from the notes that the
: 49 year old wife, Marcia, knew that her husband was going to kill her. Not
: only that, she also knew he was going to kill their 8 year old son! The
: mother, Marcia Mcintosh, wrote about her impending sons murder "There has
: been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey, and I, that
: Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden upon
: another". Jeffrey being their 8 year old son. Way to go, Mom! There's a
:
: ``It was the most awful day of our lives,'' McIntosh wrote. ``Jeffrey ...
: missed school that day, the only day he has missed all year. He has never
: said a word about that day since.''
:
: McIntosh, 72, had been a success in Toronto real estate in the 1960s and
: in Florida in the 1970s. Police said he lost his wealth in the 1980s,
: became despondent and drank heavily.
:
: McIntosh had three adult children - two sons and a daughter - from a
: previous marriage. In one of the notes reported today by The Miami Herald,
: he blamed his son Robert for helping oust him from a business partnership.
:
:
: ``Our intentions were to die on Jan. 8, your birthday! We wanted you to
: remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of love and
: compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.
:
: ``I am dead now Bob, so do a dead man a favor! Since we literally have no
: money, pay for our cremations.''
:
: The newspaper said it could not reach Robert McIntosh or his attorney for
: comment. Stephen Plunkett, Marcia's brother, said simply ``I don't
: understand,'' and burst into tears.
:
: Marcia McIntosh, 49, also left a letter attempting to explain why they
: took their young son's life.
:
: ``This is not easy for me to write! I have been sick to my stomach for
: months, waking up and going to sleep with the thought of what was to
: happen on March 17!'' she wrote.
:
: ``There has been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey and
: I, that Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden
: upon another.''
:
: AP-NY-03-21-97
:
:
--
[[ my actual login name is dhaire, not d.haire ]]
cyli
And they thought he'd had a 'normal life' up until then? I wish these
suicidal monsters would just off themselves and not include anyone else.
Let each do their own as/when they feel necessary. Don't push them over
the edge before you make the jump you want so badly.
'Great love and dependency.' Yeah. On the parents part. Of course the
kid was dependent, too, but through no fault of his own. They probably
just didn't want him to grow up, gain a mind of his own, and betray him
as the older children, obviously sensibly, had.
--
"If I die of curiousity, who will entertain you with naive questions?"
I only answer my mail on an average of once every two months. Be
patient.
klb...@aol.com
>Interesting family murder-suicide story out of West Palm Beach, Florida.
>A 72 year old man shot his 49 year old wife and 8 year old son to death,
>before killing himself>. and then:
<<The
mother, Marcia Mcintosh, wrote about her impending sons murder "There has
been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey, and I, that
Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden upon
another". Jeffrey being their 8 year old son. Way to go, Mom! There's a
gal worthy of the "mother of the year" award......not! >>
Careful Joe, your showing your soft, humanitarian side again. :-) Or , do you believe like I do?
That to kill the boy, was actually a kind thing to do. I know, I will probably raise some eyebrows with that thought. But think about it... he was going to be the orphan of elderly parents, who may not have had any other relations who could care for him.
In a note to his oldest son (from another marriage) the father writes :
<<`Our intentions were to die on January 8th, your birthday! We wanted you to
remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of love and
compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.''>>
Sounds to me like the older children, after making money with their father when business was good, turned their backs on him when he was in a terrible financial state. <<He became a millionaire,
and
shared his wealth and business insight with his sons, Robert and Jim.>>
Granted it isn't a reason to kill yourself and family. But it does sound like the boy would not have been taken care of by the step-family.
We both know, at 8 yrs. old that could mean "institutionalizing" him for awhile, while waiting for adoption. Its a proven fact, people would rather adopt babies, than children with emotional scars. Sad but true. It would have been a life, in foster homes I'm afraid. And many of those homes, should not be allowed to take children, period...Beside that possibility, he would have to live with the memory of his parents, "checking out" on him. Survivors guilt.
<<Dena Peterson, spokeswoman for the West Palm Beach Police Department,
said,
``Obviously they weren't thinking rationally. You wouldn't kill your
family over
something like that. Life is more precious than money.''>>
Maybe somebody should have told the older children that!!!
Katie
Katie
Jen1orbit
jen1...@aol.com (Jen1orbit) writes:
>Interesting family murder-suicide story out of West Palm Beach, Florida.
>A 72 year old man shot his 49 year old wife and 8 year old son to death,
>before killing himself>. and then:
><<The
>mother, Marcia Mcintosh, wrote about her impending sons murder "There has
>been such a great love and dependency between Bob, Jeffrey, and I, that
>Bob and I saw no way to leave Jeffrey behind as a financial burden upon
>another". Jeffrey being their 8 year old son. Way to go, Mom! There's a
>gal worthy of the "mother of the year" award......not! >>
klb...@aol.com Wrote:
>> Careful Joe, your showing your soft, humanitarian side
again. :-) Or , >>do you believe like I do?
>> That to kill the boy, was actually a kind thing to do. I know, I will
probably raise >>some eyebrows with that thought. But think about it... he
was going to be the >>orphan of elderly parents, who may not have had any
other relations who could >>care for him.
Hello Katie,
I show the true side of myself, in all of my posts. I'm not ashamed of
showing support for a killer, and I'm equally unashamed to show my "soft,
humanitarian sode", as you so nicely put it. Whether or not I actually
possess such a soft side, is an open question. But I appreciate you're
thinking that I do.
No, I don't believe that killing the boy was at all a kind thing to do.
Definately not. But I can understand your perspective. The fact is,
orphanages can be fine places in which to grow up. I only wish my parents
had abandoned me at birth, or even abandoned me at age 8. Orphanages could
be much better places than they are now, if only this society was willing
to expend the proper monetary resources to greatly expand the entire
State-run orphanage system, as well as do mandatory competency testing,
along with random drug and alcohol testing of ALL people who are hired to
work in the orphanages.
I know what death is, Katie. Death is nothingness for all of eternity.
Nothing is worse then death. Despite all my abuse and pain, I never for a
second considered suicide. I am intelligent enough to know that all the
God and Afterlife stories are pathetic myths, and that despite all the
tragedies of my life, the absolute greatest tragedy is yet to come. And
that will occur on the day that I do die.
>>In a note to his oldest son (from another marriage) the father writes :
><<`Our intentions were to die on January 8th, your birthday! We wanted
you to >>remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of
love and
>>compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.''>>
>>Sounds to me like the older children, after making money with their
father when >>business was good, turned their backs on him when he was in
a terrible >>financial >state. <<He became a millionaire,
>>and
>>shared his wealth and business insight with his sons, Robert and Jim.>>
>>Granted it isn't a reason to kill yourself and family. But it does sound
like the >>boy would not have been taken care of by the step-family.
The benefits of being with a "family" are highly overrated, IMO. If your
family is truly loving, it certainly does beat an orphanage. But I would
estimate that at least 5% of all children would be better off being raised
in a properly run orphanage, then by their biological parents.
>> We both know, at 8 yrs. old that could mean "institutionalizing" him
for awhile, >>while waiting for adoption. Its a proven fact, people would
rather adopt babies, >>than children with emotional scars. Sad but true.
It would have been a life, in >>foster homes I'm afraid. And many of those
homes, should not be allowed to >>take children, period...Beside that
possibility, he would have to live with the >>memory of his parents,
"checking out" on him. Survivors guilt.
Life is better than death. My own rational brain sees this fact with
absolute clarity. If I can value my own life, despite having a dead soul
and despite all my abuse and suffering, I think that every human being has
the capacity, on an intellectual level, to value their own life, and to be
glad for it.
>><<Dena Peterson, spokeswoman for the West Palm Beach Police Department,
>>said,
>>``Obviously they weren't thinking rationally. You wouldn't kill your
>>family over
>>something like that. Life is more precious than money.''>>
>> Maybe somebody should have told the older children that!!!
>>Katie
This society indicates and teaches in many ways to it's unwashed masses
that money is just as valuable, and in some cases clearly more valuable,
than human life.
Very interesting post, Katie. Thanks for stimulating my intellect.
Take care, JOE
Jen1orbit
d.h...@gate.net (doug haire) Wrote:
<snip>
>I find it odd that you repeat, over and over again, the man's age but
then
>you seem a bit odd about everything anyway...
Hello Doug,
Thanks for the additional information on the case. I repeat the man's
age because I find it both interesting and impressive that a man of such
advanced years committed this crime. There have been several impressive
acts by elderly gentlemen over the past few week. Larry Singleton, Ali Abu
Kamal, and now Bob Mcintosh.
Take care, JOE
binky
Why is it assumed that the older son was some evil, horrible person toward his
father? Because Dad (who clearly had a few screws loose to pull this
murder/suicide off) says so in his note? This was like the ultimate guilt
trip to pull on the older son. From what I've read, there were implications
of Dad being an alcoholic who just quit showing up to work. Maybe the older
son was trying to get him to see the light by not enabling and supporting him.
Binky
Mike & Michelle Martinez
On 21 Mar 1997 15:58:53 GMT, jen1...@aol.com (Jen1orbit) wrote:
>Hello,
>
> Here is a more detailed news report on this interesting case out of West
>Palm Beach, Florida in which a 72 year oild man killed his 49 year old
>wife and 8 year old son.
>Friends suggested he declare bankruptcy and send Marcia to work.
>``She has talents but no money making ability,'' he wrote. ``She looked
>into the
>Dept. Stores and they pay $5.50 an hour.''
It's not much, but a LOT of people live on that wage or less.
>The couple put their house up for sale last year. Marcia leased a Cadillac
>after they
>sold her other car to pay for roof repairs.
Oh, the poor thing! She had to LEASE a Cadillac!
>The first four pages of the suicide letter to his son were written Jan. 7,
>the day
>before McIntosh planned to kill his family, the day one of their business
>properties
>was foreclosed on.
>``Our intentions were to die on January 8th, your birthday! We wanted you
>to
>remember the day that your cold and heartless actions, lack of love and
>compassion, caused the destruction of a perfectly good family.''
How manipulative.
I suppose people have the right to decide whether they want to live or
not, but murdering your child because you can't bear to live without
the trappings of wealth is one of the more despicable things I've
heard lately...
Michelle