Family massacre in PA:Man kills wife in front of 2 kids,then kills kids,then kills self
Joe1orbit
Note: This my third attempt to send this same message through AOL. So, don't
blame if if three identical posts show up if future days. Blame AOL for their
grossly inferior posting service, for the past 48 hours. :)
Hello,
There has been yet another rather impresive family massacre. In this one,
FOUR people, all members of the same family unit are dead. He have ourselves a
good old fashioned triple murder-suicide out of the great state of
Pennsylvania.
31 year old Robert Renninger is estranged from his his wife. They live apart,
and they created two children, via copulation, in the past. The 2 kids are aged
7 and 9. A boy and a girl. Your deranged society, ever mindful of preserving
the SACRED "familial blood bond", tries to reward BOTH parents who separate or
divorce, by allowing the parent who LOSES custody, to still have contact with
his or her biological creations.
That was the situation here. 27 year old Tammy Renninger had custody of the 2
children. But an irrational judge, acting as a representative of your society,
declared that the daddy deserved to have SOME time, on a regular basis, to get
OWNERSHIP of his two SLAVES. So, on some weekends, Robert got these 2 kids to
himself, then dropped them off, at a neutral drop-off point, when it was time
for him to return the slaves to his estranged wife.
Today, Robert, after a nice weekend with the kids, drove them to the
designated drop-off point, and waited for Tammy to show up. When she did,
Robert pulled out a gun and shot the mother of these 2 slaves to death, right
in front of their eyes. He then hopped back into the car, with the 2 children
who had just witnessed their mother being gunned down, inside.
He drove the car for about a mile, to a rural road. No doubt the 2 children
were hysterical, or in shock, over what they had just witnessed. Robert,
determined to live out his True Reality with complete success, then shot BOTH
children to death, as they sat inside the car. Having accomplished his mission,
Robert pumped his last bullet into his own chest, killing himself.
So, the final tally is: Estranged wife, shot & killed. 9 year old son, shot &
killed. 7 year old daughter, shot and killed. Robert did a good job of
achieving fatalities in all three of his victims.
I wonder what the two kids were thinking about, after they saw their daddy
gun down mommy, and then he hopped back in the car and drove for a mile, before
stopping? I wonder whether Robert spoke to the kids during this trip, whether
they spoke to him, etc... He really SHOULD have had a little mini-cassette
recorder running, and recorded the final 15-30 minutes of life, for the 3 of
them, after he shot Tammy to death. I sure would be fascinated to hear an audio
recording of those final 15-30 minutes. But I guess we have to be satisfied
with using our imaginations and trying to envision what conversation might have
taken place between our Deadly Daddy, and his 2 slaves, in the final few
minutes of the lives of all three of them.
Robert and Tammy WERE in the midst of a 'bitter" divorce. And BOTh of them
HAD obtained restraining orders against each other. In the backdrop of this
scenario, YOUR pathetic society still chooses to HAND OVER these 2 helpless
children into the OWNERSHIP of Robert and Tammy, two people who have already
demonstrated incompetence and inferiority, via the FAILURE of their marriage.
As well as having demonstrated active HOSTILITY towards each other. Your
society does not care about the fate of these 2 children, it just GIVES them to
Robert and Tammy. Why? Because they succesfully copulated 7 and 9 years ago.
How pathetic you and your cultural mores and laws regarding child custody and
care, are!
Hey, guess what? A neighbor of Tammy's says that Robert kept a lenghty
journal, which he updated regularly, in which he wrote about his "feelings".
Cool! I sure hope that journal somehow finds it's way into the media. It's
always nice to try and understand the mindset of a triple family murderer like
Robert. And in that journal, he very likely expressed his deepest, most
profound feelings and thoughts and life philosophy.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
TREMONT, Pa. (AP) - A man returning his two children to his estranged wife
after a weekend visit shot her and the youngsters to death, then killed
himself.
Robert Renninger, 31, opened fire on Tammy L. Renninger, 27, in front of the
diner they used as a drop-off point for the children Sunday night.
Renninger then drove the children, David, 9, and Jessica 7, toward a rural road
less than a mile away and shot them. Then he put a bullet in his chest.
Renninger, a coal company mechanic, was in the middle of a bitter divorce. His
wife was a nursing home aide and daughter of a former Tremont police chief.
The Renningers couple had obtained restraining orders against each other,
police said.
``I talked to her Wednesday, and Tammy said, `I know he's going to kill me,'''
said Larissa A. Boyer, who lived next door to Renninger. ``He kept a journal of
all of his feelings, pages and pages. If (the police) want to know anything,
it's probably all in there.''
Tremont is 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
AP-NY-01-12-98
xs...@pitnet.net
.. the fact is, they probably had a violent and bitter marriage as well.. my
feelings about this is: children should never be left in homes of people who
are emotionally and physically abusive to each other .. not only are they
learning a brand of twisted "love" but the parents are unlikely to be able to
provide any healthy love for these children either .. mentally healthy people
do not marry sick people or stay in sick relationships long unless that is all
they feel they deserve (and they are generally right) or, they were raised to
believe that "love" is violence and at least it is exciting, not boring..
.. when an abusive relationship exists, and the mother/father will not get out
of the relationship, the children should be removed and raised by
competent/caring adults .. period.. solo
On 13 Jan 1998 04:24:44 GMT, joe1...@aol.com (Joe1orbit) wrote:
> Robert and Tammy WERE in the midst of a 'bitter" divorce.
remove x in xs...@pitnet.net to send email
Joe1orbit
xs...@pitnet.net Wrote:
>.. the fact is, they probably had a violent and bitter marriage as >well..
Hello solo,
I agree that this is VERY likely. I will try to find a more detailed article
on this triple murder/suicide, this evening, and post it to this thread.
> my
>feelings about this is: children should never be left in homes of people who
>are emotionally and physically abusive to each other ..
You continue to impress me, solo, with the clarity vand insight of your
comments. I agree with you 100% on the above. Any parent who is unable to
develop and maintain a totally peaceful and non-violent/non-abusive
relationship with their CHOSEN life partner, has demonstrated that they are
INCOMPETENT and should not be trusted with the care of any child.
> not only are they
>learning a brand of twisted "love" but the parents are unlikely to be able to
>provide any healthy love for these children either ..
Absolutely true.
> mentally healthy people
>do not marry sick people or stay in sick relationships long unless that is
>all
>they feel they deserve (and they are generally right) or, they were raised to
>believe that "love" is violence and at least it is exciting, not >boring..
Once again, your insights are right on the money. Any parent who CHOOSES to
remain involved in a relationship that involves abuse or violence, for ANY
reason, has demonstrated that they cannot and should not be entrusted with the
care of any child.
>.. when an abusive relationship exists, and the mother/father will not get
>out
>of the relationship, the children should be removed and raised by
>competent/caring adults .. period..
Bravo! You are rapidly attainting status as one of the most Well Washed and
rational human being here at the NG,. in my eyes. Not that you should care
about how I perceive you, but I wanted to let you know that your "star is
rising", in terms of my appreciating your rational comments and insights. :)
Take care, JOE
Joe1orbit
Hello,
It took quite a bit of digging, but I finally managed to find a fairly
in-depth article on Sunday night's rather impressive family massacre over in
Pennsylvania, where 31 year old Robert Renninger, involved in a bitter divorce
battle with his wife, Tammy, shot her to death in front of their 2 children,
aged 7 and 9, then drove off with the 2 kids, to a rural road, stopped the
care, shot both children to death, and then killed himself with a gunshot to
the chest.
This is a triple murder-suicide, and I must gently chide the news wires for
not providing the type of detailed and in-depth coverage that an incident of
this magnitude warrant, IMNSVHO.
Luckily, I am a diligent fellow, and do not give up easily in terms of
researching a crime such as this one. We learn below that Robert had a history
of not only threatening to kill his wife, in the past, but also physically
abusing her. Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this
triple murder.
Tammy Renninger drove to a neutral, public spot, to pick up the two children
from their weekend with Daddy. Robert drove his own pick-up truck, with the 2
children inside, to this same location. Tammy got out of her car, when both of
them had arrived on the scene, and walked around to the passenger side of the
car, where she opened the door to allow the two kids to enter. Robert was still
sitting inside of his truck, with the 2 children inside. Robert then stepped
out of his truck, armed with a gun, and shot Tammy twice. The first shot
apparently just grazed her hand, but the second shot went directly into her
head, killing her on the spot. Tammy screamed after the first shot, and within
a second or two, there was the fatal second shot from Robert.
Robert then jumped back into his pick-up truck, and drove to a rural road
about half a mile away, with both children in the back seat, one of them still
SEATBELTED in. Then Robert stopped the car, turned around towards the back, and
shot both of his children in the chest, killing them. He then shot himself in
the chest, also a fatal wound. The gun used by Robert was a .357 Magnum! Yes
indeed, that IS the right caliber to use when you want to be assured of KILLING
all of your victims, and not merely wounding them. Nicely high powered handgun
caliber, the .357 Magnum is. Autopsies are being done today, on Robert and on
the two children. I bet that Robert was stone cold SOBER, and had no alcohol or
drugs in his system, when he committed this triple murder-suicide.
We get some comments from domestic violence spokespeople, who obviously
express their dismay over the incident. Tammy did have an order of protection
in effect against Robert. But interestingly enough, Robert also had an order of
protection against Tammy. But it probably is true that Robert poses a much
greater threat to Tammy, than vice-versa. He had held a gun to her head and
threatened to kill her, in the past, according to a domestic violence counselor
who had spoken with Tammy.
Tammy had taken out THREE orders of protection against Robert, the final one
just 2 weeks before this triple murder-suicide. She obtained the first one in
1996, stating that Robert had abused their daughter, then aged 6. She obtained
the second one on November 12th, 1997, but then CHOSE to DROP it, on the 24th
of November. Later she filed for divorce, and filed vfor the final Order Of
Protection on December 16th. Well, all that maneuvering didn't get Tammy very
far, in the end. All she got was a spot in a cemetary plot, no doubt next to
her 2 children.
And then we get the typical comments from neighbors and co-workers, wgo weigh
in with their spu of the moment sound-bite comments on being shocked,
surprised, dismayed, etc...
Bottom line is, Robert had a plan, and he carried out his plan to perfection,
accomplishing exactly what he set out to do, in killing Tammy and the 2
children, before killing himself.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of the 1/13/98 online edition of The Allentown
Morning Call newspaper:
Murder-suicide claims four lives
Four dead in Schuylkill murder-suicide
Robert Renninger shot his estranged wife, son and daughter before turning the
gun on himself, authorities say.
January 13, 1998
By WENDY E. SOLOMON
Of The Morning Call
A Schuylkill County man who authorities said had abused and threatened to kill
his wife shot her to death outside a Tremont restaurant Sunday night, then
killed their two children and turned the gun on himself, police said.
State police Monday continued to investigate the triple homicide and suicide,
which rocked the small farming community in the western part of the county.
Robert Renninger, 31, of 118 W. Laurel St., Tremont, met his estranged wife,
Tammy, 27, of Pine Grove R.4 at about 8 p.m. outside Behm's Family Restaurant
to drop off their children, David, 9, and Jessica, 7, after a weekend visit,
police said.
The couple, who were in divorce proceedings and a custody battle, shared
custody of their children, and used the restaurant as a dropoff point, police
said.
Tammy Renninger got out of her Ford Bronco, walked around to the passenger
side, opened the door and flipped down the seat for the children, who still
were in Robert Renninger's truck, said Lt. Richard Lingenfelter, commander of
state police at Schuylkill Haven.
Robert Renninger then shot his wife twice, police said. His first shot missed.
Tammy Renninger's hand showed defensive wounds received in an attempt to block
the shot, an autopsy conducted by Dr. Richard Bindie of Pottsville Hospital
showed.
The second shot struck her in the head and killed her, Lingenfelter said.
''There was a shot, a scream and another shot,'' said Lisa Raris, owner of
Behm's, which had just closed for the night. Raris said she had seen a vehicle
with its lights on waiting in her restaurant's parking lot, a popular meeting
place.
Robert Renninger drove seven-tenths of a mile to a road used by the Blackwood
Anthracite Coal Co. in Tremont Township, where he turned around and shot both
children -- one still seat-belted in the back seat of his extended-cab pickup
truck -- in the chest, Lingenfelter said.
Robert Renninger then shot himself in the chest in the front seat, Lingenfelter
said.
Police arrived at the restaurant and found Tammy Renninger face down.
They found the children and Robert Renninger, a coal company mechanic, about an
hour later.
Assistant County Coroner Robert Berger pronounced Tammy Renninger dead at the
scene at 10:10 p.m. and the others at 10:24 p.m., police said.
Autopsies of Robert Renninger and the children are expected to be conducted
today. Tests are being performed on the .357 Magnum handgun found at the scene.
''To think what the kids went through on that ride,'' said Sally Casey,
executive director of Women in Crisis of Schuylkill County, an advocacy group
for domestic violence victims that helped Tammy Renninger obtain a
protection-from-abuse order in November.
''It just makes me sick. And to think one had to watch the other one'' get
shot, Casey said.
Casey said the abuse had gone on for some time. Robert Renninger more than once
held a gun to his wife and threatened to kill her, Casey said.
Tammy Renninger had taken out at least three PFA orders against her husband,
including one as recently as two weeks ago, according to Schuylkill County
Court records.
Tammy Renninger, a nursing home dietary aide and daughter of recently retired
Tremont Police Chief Lamar Gehres, first obtained a PFA in 1996, in which she
said her husband beat their daughter, who was then 6.
Tammy Renninger obtained a PFA order against her husband on Nov. 12 because
''he threatened to blow her head off,'' the order said. But she dropped it on
Nov. 24 -- an action not uncommon from women trying to leave abusive
relationships.
She filed for divorce shortly thereafter.
''This case is typical,'' Casey said. ''The period after a woman decides to
separate is frequently the most dangerous. Men tell women that, 'If you leave
me, I will kill you.' And very often they will kill the children, too.
''That's what he threatened, and that's what he did,'' she said.
Robert Renninger also obtained a PFA order against his wife on Dec. 16 -- which
also is typical of abusers who file to retaliate, Schuylkill County
Prothonotary Peter Symons said.
Robert Renninger alleged that his wife called him at 6:30 a.m. and later a man
came to his house and threatened him.
On Dec. 16, Tammy Renninger filed for another PFA order and was granted a
temporary order by county Senior Judge Donald Dolbin, who ordered Robert
Renninger to stay away from his wife and to turn in his guns.
Dolbin also granted Robert Renninger's PF order against Tammy Renninger.
''What I want to know is why he still had a gun,'' Casey said.
One neighbor said Robert Renninger was having a tough time handling the breakup
of his marriage. Others expressed shock.
''It's very tragic,'' said Jeanetta Krammes. ''They were wonderful neighbors.''
Neighbors said Tammy Renninger left the couple's Tremont home in the fall.
''I talked to her Wednesday, and Tammy said, 'I know he's going to kill me,'''
said Larissa A. Boyer, who lived next door to Robert Renninger and was a friend
of his wife.
''He kept a journal of all of his feelings, pages and pages. If [the police]
want to know anything, it's probably all in there.''
Neighbor Anna Frew said Robert Renninger was ''a wonderful neighbor.''
''He would do anything for you, and I got along fine with her,'' Frew said.
''And the children were very nice, behaved children.''
The family had lived on her street for eight years when Tammy Renninger left,
Frew said.
The children might have enjoyed a delayed Christmas celebration at their
paternal grandparents' home over the weekend. Robert Renninger's mother had
discussed her plans for the gathering, Krammes said.
No one answered the phone Monday morning at the home of Robert Renninger's
parents. Gehres' number is unpublished; a man answering the phone at a
relative's home said Gehres was too distraught to speak and funeral
arrangements were being planned.
Robert Renninger was a mechanic at Reading Anthracite Co. for 3-1/2 years,
working at its mining operations in Wadesville.
''It's been utter shock,'' said Frank Derrick, general manager of the
Pottsville-based company. ''No one can believe or understand that it happened
or why it happened. ... He was a good worker. He came to work. He did his
job.''
Tammy Renninger had worked for nearly four years at the Tremont Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center.
''She was a very good employee,'' spokesman Mike Mervis said. ''She was
well-regarded by the people in the facility. Everybody's very upset about it.''
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
---------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 1/13/98 online edition of The
Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper:
Police say a Schuylkill County man shot his estranged wife, two children and
himself.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TREMONT, Pa. -- A Schuylkill County man dropping off his two children after a
weekend visit fatally shot his estranged wife and the youngsters before killing
himself, police said.
Robert Renninger, 31, of Tremont, shot Tammy L. Renninger, 27, outside Behm's
Restaurant about 8 p.m. Sunday, according to state police at Schuylkill Haven.
He then drove away in his truck with the couple's two children, David, 9, and
Jessica, 7, stopping on a rural road less than a mile away. Robert Renninger
shot the two children, then fired a bullet into his own chest, police said.
Sgt. David J. Shinskie, supervisor of the Schuylkill Haven barracks crime
section, said the couple was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle. They
used the restaurant in Tremont, 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia, as a
drop-off point for the children.
One neighbor said that Renninger was having a tough time handling the breakup
of his marriage and that his wife feared for her life. Others expressed shock.
"It's very tragic," said Jeanetta Krammes, who had lived on the same street as
the Renningers. "They were wonderful neighbors."
She added, "I had never heard of him being violent."
Tammy Renninger, a nursing home dietary aide and daughter of recently retired
Tremont Police Chief Lamar Gehres, was pronounced dead at the restaurant at
10:10 p.m. Her children and estranged husband, a coal company mechanic, were
pronounced dead about 15 minutes later. Autopsies were being conducted
yesterday.
Neighbors said Tammy Renninger left the couple's Tremont home in the fall and
moved to Pine Grove.
The estranged spouses had obtained protection-of-abuse orders against each
other, said a state trooper.
"I talked to her Wednesday, and Tammy said, 'I know he's going to kill me,' "
said Larissa A. Boyer, who lived next door to Robert Renninger and was a friend
of his wife. "He kept a journal of all of his feelings, pages and pages. If [
the police ] want to know anything, it's probably all in there."
The children may have enjoyed a delayed Christmas celebration at their paternal
grandparents' home over the weekend.
No one answered the phone Monday morning at the home of Robert Renninger's
parents. Gehres' number is unpublished; a woman answering the phone at a
relative's home refused to comment.
Renninger was a mechanic at Reading Anthracite Co. for the last 3 years,
working at its mining operations in Wadesville.
"It's been utter shock. No one can believe or understand that it happened or
why it happened. It's an unfortunate thing, and it's so unpredictable," said
Frank Derrick, general manager of the Pottsville-based company.
"He was a good worker. He came to work, he did his job. There really was no
indication that anything like this was going to happen," Derrick said. "Our
sympathy goes out for everyone."
Tammy Renninger had worked for nearly four years at the Tremont Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center.
"She was a very good employee," spokesman Mike Mervis said.
CrynTomato
>We learn below that Robert had a history
>of not only threatening to kill his wife, in the past, but also physically
>abusing her. Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding
>this
>triple murder.
How many times does this type of thing have to happen? Why can't the courts
put 2+2 together, abuse and threats usually add up to disaster. Joe gives us
cause to wonder about the wisdom of joint custody in cases like this. It seems
to add fuel to the fire, give the abusive partner an in to attack their ex. I
don't care if it was the man or the woman, if a partner proves themselves to be
violent why should they be given equal rights and consideration. What a
mess!!!
MRFLABBOY
Don't worry, Joe!!!
At least the litte bastards won't grow up to spawn anymore little peices of
crap called children who willhave to undergo the rigors of becoming civilized.
Think of that to keep you warm! Those kids got spared a hell of a lot. They
NEVER have to worry about growing up in our society. You get your wish.
:)
Joe1orbit
mrfl...@aol.com (MRFLABBOY) Wrote:
>Don't worry, Joe!!!
Hello,
I am not worried in the slightest.
>At least the litte bastards won't grow up to spawn anymore little peices of
>crap called children who willhave to undergo the rigors of becoming
>civilized.
The deaths of the 2 children are meaningless to me. I celebrate the True
Reality of the killer. I don't celebrate or care about the victims, at all,
emotionally.
>Think of that to keep you warm! Those kids got spared a hell of a lot. They
>NEVER have to worry about growing up in our society. You get >your wish.
If I had my wish, I would have access to a thermonuclear bomb capable of
destroying all life on this planet. Just guess what my decision would be, if I
had such a device in hand? :)
Take care, JOE
>
>:)
jdevo...@gmail.com
This is just one example why abortion should be readily available and not hindered in any way (law, insurance, religion, etc.). This is all to often what happens with unwanted births: they are left to society to pay for, they often end up dead, on drugs, or in jail (or some combination of the three), often also adding more unwanted births along the way.
Don't step in the way of abortion unless YOU are PERSONALLY going to step up and take care of them and ensure them a GOOD life. If you are not willing to do that, then shut your gob.