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Four dead in murder-suicide-arson case

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Jun 10, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/10/99

The following two news articles both appear courtesy of today's
Associated
Press news wire:

Thursday, June 10

Four dead in murder-suicide-arson case

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Four people two adults and two children died
early
this morning in what police believe was a murder-suicide and arson.

Police Chief James Shay said firefighters called to the home around 1:15
a.m.
found the bodies of Charles Silk, 39; his 32-year-old wife, Kelly; and
two of
their children: Jennifer, 3, and Jonah, 2.

A third child, 6-month-old Joshua, was found inside the house with
severe
burns. A fourth, 8-year-old Jessica, was found at a neighbor's home
where
police said she had fled for help after being stabbed by her mother.

Shay said police believe Kelly Silk fatally stabbed her husband and
attacked
her daughter, then set fire to the home. Jennifer and Jonah probably
died of
smoke inhalation, Shay said; Mrs. Silk's body was badly burned, he said.

The chief said police were told that Kelly Silk had been treated for
mental
problems.

Shay gave no other details. But department spokesman Hugo Benettieri
said
police were called to the home in May 1998 after Mrs. Silk overdosed on
a drug.

The drug Mrs. Silk took was not immediately clear. She was hospitalized,
but no
other details of her treatment were immediately available.

Emergency operators received two calls this morning one from a neighbor
who
spotted a fire, the other from a neighbor to whom Jessica had apparently
fled
for shelter.

Joshua Silk was in serious condition in the burn center at Massachusetts

General Hospital in Boston, spokeswoman Victoria Brady said this
morning.
Jessica was taken to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, where
she was
listed in serious condition, hospital spokesman Chris Boyle said.

Shay said the husband died from the stabbing attack while Kelly Silk and
the
children died in the fire.

Investigators were still trying to piece together the exact sequence of
events.
All four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner's office for
autopsies.
AP-ES-06-10-99
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 10

Family's deaths stun quiet neighborhood

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Kelly Silk's neighborhood is a bucolic blend
of
country and suburb, where the mother of four often gathered her brood
for the
short walk to a pasture to pet and feed a neighbor's horse.

Horse owner Austin Harlow recalled that Mrs. Silk made sure the children
were
very careful around the docile animal.

Like his neighbors, Harlow was thus at a loss to explain why an
apparently
doting mother might have stabbed her husband to death early Thursday
morning,
then set a fire that killed two children and herself.

Two other children, including a 6-month-old boy, were hospitalized.

''It's a real shocker,'' Harlow said. ''She took care of the kids.''

Police speculate that the 32-year-old woman, who had previously battled
post-partum depression, may have been struggling with it again. In May
1998,
Mrs. Silk overdosed on the antidepressant Prozac.

Police Chief James Shay said firefighters were called to the home around
1:15
a.m. Tuesday. They found the bodies of Mrs. Silk; Charles Silk, 39;
daughter
Jennifer, 3; and son Jonah, 2.

Six-month-old Joshua Silk, also found inside the house, suffered severe
burns.
A fourth child, 8-year-old Jessica, was found at a neighbor's home,
where
police said she fled after being stabbed several times by her mother.

Shay said Jessica who also was suffering from burns had made the call to
police
herself.

''She was obviously in a state of trauma and shock. It was marvelous she
had
the presence of mind to call,'' said Shay.

Late Thursday morning police and fire investigators continued to gather
evidence from the Silks' light green raised ranch, which had been for
sale
since January.

A child's bright orange plastic car lay in the front yard.

Harlow, who said the family last visited his horse a few weeks ago, had
watched
several hours earlier as firefighters rushed tiny Joshua into a waiting
cruiser.

''That really got to me,'' he said.

Shay said officers used their cruisers to transport some of the victims
because
there weren't enough ambulances. One of the children died in an
officer's arms,
he said.

Mrs. Silk asphyxiated in the fire, the chief state medical examiner
said. She
had apparently used a chemical to start the fire and may have been
caught up in
the first flash of fire. Her death was ruled a suicide.

Charles Silk died of stab wounds. The two children died of smoke
inhalation and
burns. Their deaths were all ruled homicides.

Joshua was in serious condition at Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston,
spokeswoman Sue McGreevey said.

Jessica was in serious condition at the Connecticut Children's Medical
Center,
spokesman Chris Boyle said.

Family friend Joe Amato said Mrs. Silk became depressed after the birth
of her
third child, about 18 months ago.

''It took her ... a good three, four months to overcome it,'' Amato told

WFSB-TV.
AP-ES-06-10-99
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 6/10/99 online edition of The
Hartford
Courant newspaper:

Thursday, June 10, 1999
Web-Posted 2:59 p.m.