DANIEL JOEL and WILLIAM BENJAMIN RASHLEY - 8 and 7 yo - St Augustine FL

Mother, 2 children found fatally shot

The Associated Press
8:42 a.m. EST, February 24, 2012

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — Authorities say a mother and two children were found fatally shot in a suburban northeast Florida home.

The
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office reports that deputies found the
bodies Thursday afternoon after a family member contacted authorities
with concerns about their welfare.

Sheriff David Shoar says it wasn't clear why the family member was concerned.

The woman and her elementary school-age children weren't immediately identified.

Police identify mother, 2 children killed in Julington Creek Plantation shooting

Boys were 7 and 8 years old; all had gunshot wounds.

Updated: February 24, 2012 - 11:26am

Update: Records also indicate the woman was a victim of spousal abuse. Grief counselors are at the boys' school to help students with the news.

---

A family is grieving and an entire community is in
disbelief after a mother and two children were found dead in their
Julington Creek Plantation home Thursday afternoon.

Late Thursday night, police identified the victims as
Donna Gayle McCulloch, 40; Daniel Joel Rashley, 8; and Wiliam Benjamin
Rashley, 7. All had gunshot wounds, police said.

St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said it was a
family member who found the bodies about 4:30 p.m. The relative had gone
to check on the woman and her kids out of concern for their welfare.
The sheriff said he didn’t yet know what had caused that concern.

There was no sign of forced entry in the Loveland Place home, according to the sheriff.

He said authorities were not looking for a suspect and that there was no reason for community concern.

Police presence was heavy at the Durbin Crossing
subdivision, but there were no police helicopters, SWAT team members or
other signs of a manhunt.

As far as the other parent, Shoar said, “There could be another parent out there that does not know this yet.”

Roberta Gjeloshaj was walking by and stopped to learn
what all the police activity was about. She looked visibly shaken when
she learned the woman and young children were dead.

“Devastating,” she said. “I have three elementary school children at home.”

She said she’s lived in the area seven years without seeing or hearing of any violence. “It breaks my heart,” she said.

The owners of the Loveland Place residence also own
another home nearby, property records show. Two women who answered the
door there did not wish to comment Thursday night.

Police presence at the neighborhood gradually
diminished as the evening wore on, but one officer remained to prevent
any non residents from entering.


http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-02-23/story/police-identify-mother-2-children-killed-julington-creek-plantation#ixzz1nK85ZL5s

Court records: St. Johns woman found dead with 2 boys had been victim of spousal abuse

February 24, 2012 - 12:49pm


The mother of two St. Johns County brothers found shot to death with her Thursday was the victim of years of abuse by her husband, who she divorced in 2010, court records show.

Police have not said what led to the deaths of Julington Creek
Elementary second-grader Daniel Joel Rashley, 8, and his brother,
first-grader William Benjamin Rashley, 7, and their mother, Donna Gayle
McCulloch, 40.

They were found in their Julington Creek Plantation home about 4:30
p.m. by family members checking on their well-being. The children were
no in school yesterday, said Sgt. Chuck Mulligan of the Sheriff's
Office.

Sheriff David Shoar said police are not looking for suspects and
authorities would neither confirm nor deny that the deaths were a
murder-suicide. There was no forced entry in the home at 504 Loveland
Place. The children's father, 45-year-old Daniel Rashley II, lives in
Ohio.

Records show that the couple, married in 2003, separated in March
2010 and divorced in August 2010. The wife was given primary custody,
with the husband having supervised visits as part of a mediated
settlement agreement.

Five months earlier, McCulloch sought and received an injunction for protection against her then husband.

In the injunction petition and the divorce case, McCulloch outlined
what she said was seven years of abuse at the hands of her husband while
they were living in Texas and Florida. The couple moved to St.
Augustine in 2006, records show.

The incidents included:

- In 2003, McCulloch said Rashley punched her several times when she
confronted him about being drunk. She was holding their 7-month-old son
at the time. McCulloch said she sought help from police.

- In 2005, McCulloch said Rashley grabbed her by the arm, pushed her
into a refrigerator and threw her on a bed. Rashley was later convicted
of domestic violence, but the record was later expunged, the injunction
said.

- In 2007, McCulloch said her husband left their children
unsupervised while left alone with them. She later sought protection for
them from him, but there's no record of police being called.

- In 2010, McCulloch said Rashley violently shook a neighborhood boy
during an argument. He was arrested in that case, but the charge was
later dropped, police said.

- In March 2010, McCulloch accused Rashley of threatening her during
an argument about him wanting to drive to Ohio to get some dental work
done. Fearing for her safety, McCulloch withdrew $500 from an ATM and
gave it to her husband.

McCulloch, the sole financial provider for the family, sought a
further explanation from Rashley when she said he punched her in the
back, knocking her over a bicycle. He then left for Ohio. There is no
record of police being called.

The petition also says that Rashley threatened to take the children
at various points and never return them. It also accuses him of being an
alcoholic, which he denied through a counter motion filed by his
attorney.

The only arrest report immediately available for Rashley is a 2010
case in which he received probation after being arrested for the
unauthorized use of his wife's credit card after she was hospitalized following a life-threatening accident near their home in August.

Rashley was accused of ringing up more than $5,000 in bills in that
case. He received three years probation, including a requirement to stay
away from his wife. He violated that probation by sending text messages
and got out of jail in that case about two weeks ago, records show.

Neither Rashley nor the attorney who represented him in the divorce case could not be reached to comment today.

Mulligan said police were still processing the crime scene this
morning. He said no other details would be released until autopsies are
completed.

Christina Langston, a spokeswoman for the School Board, said grief
counselors and student services staff were dispatched to the school to
help.

“We’re deeply saddened by this tragedy,' Langston said. "We're trying
to keep things as normal as possible, creating a stable environment for
the children while they are in school."

Principal Michael Story said the mood of the school is one of shock and deep sadness.

"This is a very close-knit community," Story said. "The parents are
supporting the teachers, and the teachers are supporting the students.
... They were wonderful little boys full of life and excitement and are
gone too soon."

He said the mother was involved with the school and her children.

"I know she loved the boys and they were very close to her," Story said.

Neighbors were stunned by the news of the shootings.

“Devastating,” said Roberta Gjeloshaj. “I have three elementary school children at home.”

She said she’s lived in the area seven years without seeing or hearing of any violence. “It breaks my heart,” she said.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-02-24/story/court-records-st-johns-woman-found-dead-2-boys-had-been-victim-spousal#ixzz1nKCzfRXz

"Police are not looking for suspects."

Dear God, has another woman murdered her children before killing herself?

Father of two murdered boys just out of jail

February 25, 2012

The divorced husband and father of the two boys found dead with their
mother on Thursday, 45 year-old Daniel Joel Rashley, had just been
released from the St Johns County Jail; less than two weeks before his
children were killed.

Rashley’s last known address was the address shared with his family before they separated and moved to Loveland Place.

As reported by Historic City News Thursday night, the St Johns County Sheriff’s Office is now confirming that Donna Gayle McCulloch, the 40 year-old mother of 8 year-old Daniel Joel Rashley, born April 26th, and his brother, 7 year-old William Benjamin Rashley, born December 10th, is believed to have shot and killed her two sons — then turned the handgun on herself.

In January of last year, Rashley was arrested on third degree felony charges that he engaged in an organized scheme to defraud; obtaining property of an aggregate value of less than $20,000. On August 24th, he was taken into custody again, according to jail records, and charged with violation of probation. He was released February 10, 2012.

The murders were discovered by McCulloch’s parents; who, according to Sheriff’s spokesman Kevin Kelshaw, have been “inundated throughout the day by different members of the media seeking comment for this horrific act”.

Neighbors and friends have begun to memorialize the children’s senseless murder by leaving flowers and cards at the last place they called “home” — 504 Loveland Place in the Julington Creek Plantation.

The District 23 Medical Examiner is awaiting toxicology results to conclude his investigation, however, in a preliminary statement released after autopsy examinations of the remains, said the manner of death of all three bodies is homicide and the apparent cause is gunshot.

At about the same time as Donna Gayle McCulloch was struggling through what has been described as a “difficult” divorce from Rashley, she suffered paralyzing injuries in a car wreck and was confined to a wheelchair. News reports say that she continued employment outside the home. Their two boys attended a local elementary school.

http://www.historiccity.com/2012/staugustine/news/florida/father-murdered-boys-jail-23650

If we had a category for tragedies this would be placed there.

As it is, moving to Resolved-Other

There have been so many of these lately. I just don't understand it.

Why don't they just kill themselves and let their children live?