I have a feeling I know how this one will turn out. Yesterday, a Michigan man was killed in a car accident when he was driving the wrong way on I-94. Not only did he end up killing himself, but he also killed the driver of an oncoming car. Shortly after police identified Michael Vanderlinden as the driver driving the wrong way who was killed, they went to his house to inform his family. When police arrived at the house, they found the front door slightly open and Michael's wife and two children ages 4 and 7 stabbed to death. A murder weapon was found at the scene. This sounds like murder suicide for sure. I just don't understand these cases where people kill their entire families. Even if your spouse or partner was cheating on you or doing something like that, why do you have to kill the kids? Why kill anyone? Just walk away and leave and start over.
smdh
ReplyDeleteI feel for his family and that innocent victim and his/her friends and family.
I just can't with people anymore.
Ento, you better have some happier news and blinds and cap it off with a video of kittens playing with puppies and bunnies.
Right on Vicki!
DeleteIf this was his way of committing suicide, he's a double-jackass! Why use strangers to kill yourself? And what about all the bystanders who had to witness this horror?
ReplyDeleteGet some balls, buy a gun and take yourself out without hurting other people!
Mental Health Services. We need them to be funded and stay funded.
ReplyDeleteThis. I couldn't agree more.
DeleteA number of years ago, some woman in my area decided to kill herrself. She waited until the light was red, then began to drive through it, up until the point some innocent person drove through the green light. She didn't kill herself, but did kill the poor lady who drove through at the wrong time.
Delete"This sounds like murder suicide for sure" Ya think?
ReplyDeleteThis is so tragic. Not only does he murder his family but he destroys another. RIP to his wife and children and to the man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
ReplyDeleteJust agreeing with everything Vicki, libby, and yawn said. Y'all covered all the bases.
ReplyDeletePeople are so ashamed to see what failures they are in life they would rather kill their spouse and children than own up to what losers they are and take the easy way out.
ReplyDeleteKill yourself, fine. But don't take the innocent with you. They will go on just fine without you.
Vicky I hope this helps
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCiY1y3uJ3o
As I understand it, with some of these guys, they get the idea in their heads that, if something happens to them, the whole family will go to rack and ruin, and better to "spare" them by killing them; what it really comes down to, though, is control and power. These guys may not be able to control anything else in their lives, but damn it, they can wield the power of life and death over their families, and too often, they do just that. Usually these murder/suicides happen when something's come to a head--the guy lost his job, his secrets are about to be exposed, or his wife is leaving him--and that's when they "snap" and take out their whole family. (If it's a custody situation, it's usually just the kids who are killed, with the idea of "payback" for the spouse by taking away someone they love.) It's been going on for millenia, I'm sure, but we definitely hear about it more due to the prevelance of mass media and the Net; also, I do think that it is happening more often than in the past, due to a toxic combination of men being raised with certain expectations of what they're entitled to, combined with wobbly economic conditions and changing social roles, behaviors and attitudes. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteVicki's right, Enty--can we have something cute to coo over now? Please?
Really well said Robin!
DeleteI also agree with with everything Vicki, libby, and yawn said.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap. The accident was at exit 43 on I-94 in Indiana at 1:30 am on Thursday morning. I drove on that exact stretch of road literally four hours earlier. Even heading in the same direction.
ReplyDelete*nods head in agreement with yawn & vicki*
ReplyDeleteinsanity...
ReplyDelete@faye
ReplyDeleteKITTEH!!!!!!!!
Ahhh, much better.
lol @ the video link! I love it!!!
I agree with what everyone has said, I just have to think about what an awful state of mind someone has to be in to do this :(
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he was way past going to a hospital, probably the last thing on his mind. I'm sure the economy has a lot to do with it but I think the basis of a lot of this is because we live in such a materialistic society. We need to get people more focused on what is really important, our family and friends health and welfare NOT buying some overly expensive shoes we can't really afford or watching crap on TV that subtly brainwashes us.
Don't kill yourself with a gun! Take a handful of pills, hang yourself... anything else. Resolving everything for the people let behind is bad enough (not that you care), don't make them clean all that up on top of it!
ReplyDeleteWe just had one here where the parents split up, and the dad came down unexpectedly and wanted to see the kids. The mom was hesitant but said okay fine. The guy showed up, sent the babysitter home, killed their 3 kids, left and called the mom telling her what he'd done.
ReplyDeleteAmber, I remember reading about a guy that did that, but sent the mother pictures of what he did before he killed himself.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Depressing story. I sent this to a friend the other day to make her feel better. You can't NOT smile when you see it. Adorable.
ReplyDeletehttp://uberhumor.com/cutest-cat-in-the-world
Amber, OMG! Another sick fuck.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I don't think this guy killed himself, IIRC. So, so messed up.
ReplyDeleteMental Health Services. We need them to be funded and stay funded.
ReplyDeleteYes.
Amber... so tragic. This is all so tragic.
I need that cat video.
Great point timebob. Mistakes and failures are a natural part of life. Now he's just a coward who murdered 4 people.
ReplyDeleteThis so sad. Breaks my heart for the little babies, the wife who was probably trying to start a new life, and the poor guy in the wrong place. I started to write "why didn't he just drive into a pole and spare everyone". Then I felt bad for thinking that bc suicide isn't the answer either.
My sociology professor always said "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my vast life experience, (Im old) Story 1)A woman suffering from postpartum depression explained to me: She didn't see any point of living, just more drudgery, more running on the treadmill and getting no where. More doing the same thing over and over with the same results. If she killed herself, she would leave the kids behind without a mother. Since she was married but did all the childcare and keeping of the house, her husband would be worthless to them. She knew that kids of suicide felt abandoned. If she killed herself she would have to take them with her. FYI: She got help, they're all doing great.
ReplyDeleteStory 2) Man gets caught diddling his daughter. Denies it but no one believes him. In a lasting FU to his family blows his brains out. Guess who gets to clean that up.
RedHeadMed, that is most certainly the cutest cat in the world.
ReplyDelete"I don't always pose for the camera, but when I do I wear polka dot ears."
Stay fluffy, my friends.
A father in WA a year ago killed his wife, got away with it! They were still doing an investigation and would let him have visitation with his kids. One visitation the CPS was dropping the kids off and when he opened the door grabbed them. He blew up the house with him and his two kids in it.
ReplyDeleteWhy the fuck was this man aloud to see his child after the mom went missing and him being the only likely suspect?
Or a child whose mother said she ran out of gas, left the 2 year boy in the car and took the 6 year old girl with her to go get help. The little boy is still missing! She wasn't out of gas, the car was fine! Yet she still has full custody of the daughter and the father can do nothing!
People are sick and fucked up sometimes. Maybe no having kids in the first place would not be such a bad idea.
Sorry for the sad novel.
Okay, I'm reposting the video of my dog from the day I brought him to work because it's cute and happy.
ReplyDeleteI love that video!
ReplyDeleteAside from AnotherAmy's story I find it is almost ALWAYS men who take the entire family. In 99% of the situations that is the case. Agree with Yawn, Robin, et al. Mental health services are truly needed. I understand that the past system of insane asylums was tragically flawed but there has to be some way to house those who are not criminals but should not be on the street. We can send a man to the moon but we cannot figure out how to help these people. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteAs usual Vicki comes through with the funny lines..Stay fluffy my friends!
So sad!
ReplyDeleteOur whole system of dealing with the Mentally Ill is screwed up.
ReplyDeleteAnd this guy was just out for revenge before offing himself.
Some people are sociopaths and have no conscience. They kill the children so the children will not learn what they did to their mother.
ReplyDeleteIn once case I know about, the upstanding rich citizen began having difficulty with reality (mental issues) and not recognizing his family - maybe seeing them as monsters - and was going to quietly check into a private hospital the next day at the behest of family and friends attempting to shield his reputation by not forcing him to be committed immediately, but he killed his entire family that night.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typos. I have a cat that tries to sit on my keyboard, and causes mayhem.
Vicki (and everyone) if you have time, go to you tube and watch the Simon's Cat videos. They make me laugh out loud every time!
ReplyDeleteMildly OT but I heard this story about psychopaths this morning on NPR and thought about some of the discussions we've had here about that topic. Here's the link if anyone's interested:
ReplyDeletehttp://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=158944525
Ditto everyone about better Mental Health Services! That is my constant rant. So will be short and sweet today :)
ReplyDeleteLisa I LOVE those videos!
ReplyDeleteHere’s a Baby Elephant Running and Farting at the Same Time
ReplyDeleteAgree about better Mental Health Services but I would remind you that not everyone who needs these services will get these services. There are many mentally ill people who do NOT think they need help. There are people who refuse to take their meds. There are people who think they are fine and everyone else is wrong. You might be able to institutionalize them for a short period of time but there are also laws that make this difficult if the person can feign sanity. It's a two way street.
ReplyDelete"A father in WA a year ago killed his wife, got away with it! They were still doing an investigation and would let him have visitation with his kids. One visitation the CPS was dropping the kids off and when he opened the door grabbed them. He blew up the house with him and his two kids in it."
ReplyDeleteIIRC, Susan Powell has never been found, dead or alive. So we don't definitively know that she's dead or that he killed her. Odds are good, sure, but still.
I'm just saying he still was able to see his children in his home and he killed them. Weather or no he killed Susan, he still should Not have Had visitation in his home with his kids.
DeleteYes, SusanB, you are so right. It's extremely difficult to say the least. You are spot on.
ReplyDeleteHey, AKM, good to see you back 'round these parts!
ReplyDeleteI managed a residential home for people with dual diagnosis of mental illness and developmental disabilities. One woman became so violent and psychotic that we could no longer keep her and the other residents save and we called the police. She tried to steal the cop's gun, went to the psych ward in 5 point restraint. She screamed and raged for 5 hours. Then they gave her a shot of Haldol and said 'okay take her home." I explained that she was temporarily sedated but needed serious help. I ended up having to call the director of the agency, the police, and the hospital director to have her admitted. This was her 5th MHA in 7 months. They just want to put a band-aid on you and send you home, not help.
ReplyDeleteback to lurking!
Hi, Frufra! Glad to be back. I think. ;-)
ReplyDeleteTechnically, he could've found his murdered family at home, and left in a panic.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, people are getting crazier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AZK2-Tfc84&feature=youtube_gdata_player
ReplyDeleteWelcome back AKM. Missed you round here :) have a good one!
ReplyDeleteMischievous Angel - that happened to my uncle early in the morning on one of those country highways that are so dark. It was a long time ago, but he's still freaked out about it.
ReplyDeleteSelfish Coward! How can you possibly look into the eyes of your children while stabbing them to death. It's heart breaking. These kids were innocent, why did they have to suffer for the issues the father clearly had. And, on top of killing the wife and children this asshole goes and murders another innocent person? Disgusting!!!
ReplyDelete@Amber
ReplyDeleteI know the case. Dad turned himself in.
Very sad around that community.
You must live near me.
I just saw that this was in Indiana. I
ReplyDeleteLive near 94 near Detroit and hadnt even heard this on the local news.
Dark times, dark thoughts, dark deeds.
ReplyDeleteThere is so little help for those who need it. RIP all.
Not to mention, he took out a complete stranger too!! He should have hung himself.
ReplyDeleteCars = WMD time to ban them
Holy shit..... The family lives near the store my mom mAnages.
ReplyDeleteBulldogs in action!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a3t0Np14HE&feature=em-uploademail
:(
ReplyDeleteRIP
It's the male way. Fact.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder%E2%80%93suicide
The overwhelming majority of sociopaths and Narcissists are also male.
ReplyDelete