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Katrina couple commits suicide
26/01/2006 08:13 - (SA)
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| A man tries to get out of flooded New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina hit the city in September 2005. (AP) |
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Austell - A New Orleans couple who left their home after Hurricane Katrina died in an apparent murder-suicide, leaving behind a baby girl and a severely injured four-year-old boy.
Police entered the couple's rented home in the Atlanta suburb of Austell early on Wednesday after a call from a relative in New Orleans.
The woman said that her nephew had called her to say he had an argument with his wife and that she was dead, according to police Chief Bob Starrett.
Police Lieutenant Gordon Firth said they found the woman dead in the living room, and her injured son strapped in a nearby high chair.
A police commando team found Jerome Spears, 28, in a back bedroom, dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot, Starrett said.
The boy, who Firth said is autistic, underwent surgery on Wednesday morning.
A five-month old girl was uninjured, Starrett said.
"The tragic thing is this four-year-old boy most likely saw his mother killed and was (injured) and tied up right there where his mother was lying in a pool of blood," Starrett said. "It's as bad as it could get."
The names of the 24-year-old woman and the children were not immediately released. Starrett said authorities were having difficulty finding the couple's relatives because so many Louisiana residents scattered after the hurricane.
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