Christmas Shooter Had History Of Mental Problems

The Holiday season, Thanksgiving through New Years, but especially Christmas, is often a time of tragedy. Following are two reports of such that are not unusual at this time. Although the problems leading to the actions are different, they have noteworthy similarities.

The first involves a pending divorce.

WILLIAMSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Police are learning new information about the Christmas Day murders of an Ashtabula County couple, allegedly killed by the woman's estranged husband.

John Marsh, 35, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of 30-year-old Jennifer Marsh and her boyfriend, 32-year-old David Beach.

Police knew the couple was having trouble at their home for the past month, but could do little to stop John Marsh.

Police say there was a civil protection order in place, and that the couple was going through a divorce.

The second, a psychotic man who stopped taking his medication.

FAIRFAX -- In the days before he killed his mother and three acquaintances before taking his own life, Nathan W. Cheatham apparently had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication, according to a lawyer who once represented him.

Billy R. Hicks, a Springfield attorney who represented Cheatham in a 2002 drug case, said Sheila Cheatham called him on Christmas Eve, frantic that her 27-year-old son was paranoid and delusional.

Police investigating the Christmas Day slayings are now focusing on two theories as possible motives for the violent outburst: that Cheatham had a uncontrolled psychotic episode or that drugs were involved. Cheatham had a history of mental-health issues and drug abuse, according to police and court records.

Hicks said Sheila Cheatham called him seeking advice on what to do about her son. Nathan had not slept in 48 hours, agitating over a run-in he told his mother he had with police a couple of days earlier, Hicks said. She could not persuade him to take his medication.

Hicks said he suggested that Sheila take her son to Inova Fairfax Hospital. But she said he would refuse. Hicks then advised that Nathan could be involuntarily committed. But Sheila said her son had vowed to kill himself if he spotted any sheriff's deputies trying to take him into custody.

"I suggested he talk to a suicide hot line, but it was clear he wasn't going to do it," Hicks said.

The next day, Cheatham shot his mother several times in the driveway of their McLean home. Cheatham then drove about 8 miles to a home on Sycamore Springs Lane in Great Falls.

There, he killed Janina C. Price, 50; her 19-year-old son, Adam S. Price; and 20-year-old Christopher J. Buro, a family friend who was visiting. Each had been shot multiple times. Another member of the Price family, 20-year-old Alex Price, hid in the basement until the shooting stopped and escaped unharmed.

Here is a report from a neighbor.

In both of these tragedies there are two glaring similarities. Understanding them could have minimized the unfortunate results.

The first, both men were known to be dangerous.

John Marsh the estranged husband, had a civil protection order placed on him. Police were aware of him as a danger to his wife. The neighbors were aware of threats he made to his wife. Everyone said they could not do anything about it.

Nathan W. Cheatham a psychotic, stopped taking his medication. His mother sought help. Police had arrested him on drug charges and his lawyer was aware of his mental condition. Again everyone involved knew he was dangerous if only to himself, but felt they could or were unwilling to do anything about it.

The second, had the victims been armed they may have preserved their own lives.

John Marsh was known to be violent. Civil protection orders are useless against violent, abusive or mentally disturbed individuals. A more effective approach to situations such as this where a known threat exists would be to train and arm the potential victim for self defense. There are too many potential crimes for a police officer to escort everyone who may be in danger. The function of law enforcement is to apprehend criminals after they commit a crime. It is the individual's responsibility to protect themselves and their family. When officials find a person is insufficiently skilled to do so they should advise them on where and how to gain those skills and to do so ASAP. It would serve them better than a piece of paper.

Nathan W. Cheatham was known to be psychotic. Without his medication he was known to be dangerous. He was a known drug offender, not a good combination for someone on psychiatric medication. There should be an authority for police or other government officials to take custody of someone who refuses to take their medication when failure to do so makes them a danger to themselves or others. The case of Joe Casuccio in Richmond, VA is another example where intervention would have prevented tragedy.

As for the Price family, they may have been unaware of their danger, but being prepared to defend oneself as a general rule can make a difference in a sudden emergency. Mr, Cheatham fired at the house before entering. Such a warning may have given the Price's tie to defend themselves if they had been prepared to do so. The sad reality is officials often discourage people from considering such preparation.

So now let's look at another similar tragedy.

A woman who died after a car crash had been shot in the heart minutes earlier with a pellet gun that her 14-year-old son received as a Christmas gift, police said.

Police said the teen was protecting his grandfather from his mother, Elizabeth White. She was threatening the grandfather with a pair of scissors, according to authorities.

White, 40, of Salina, had spent the weekend in Wichita after she was invited to spend Christmas at the house where her 73-year-old father and her 68-year-old mother were raising her children.

Police said the altercation happened after White returned to the home Tuesday. Armed with scissors, White threatened to kill her father, who had only a cane to defend himself, police said.

When the argument moved into the front yard, Landen said the teen's grandfather tripped over a planter.

As his mother moved toward her fallen dad with the scissors, police said, the teenager stepped onto the front porch and aimed, striking his mother in the heart.

White, who has been in and out of prison during the past 16 years, has convictions for drug offenses, prostitution, writing bad checks and making threats, according to state records.

White a known criminal had turned violent. As she was attacking her elderly father her son, arming himself, shot her preventing further tragedy. In this case the fatal results were confined to the perpetrator. The only thing that police could have done in the absence of the son's intervention with his pellet gun would have been to apprehend White after she had killed her father.

These are not isolated or rare incidents. The current manner of dealing with them is ineffectual for prevention. Ore proactive intervention by authorities and individuals is necessary to minimize the tragic results of aberrant behavior. Teaching and encouraging self defense and taking custody of irresponsible mental patients would be a positive approach.

Open tracks at Jo's and bRight & Early

New Blog Showcase at Random Yak

Carlival of Cordite at Resistance is futile!