ALEXIS F KELLAS and SETH JERNIGAN (and mother) - 9 and 2 yo (6/14) - / Shooter: Father, Barry C Jernigan (suicide) - Matoaca, VA

Police: Dad kills wife, 2 kids on Father's Day


4 hours ago

MATOACA, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man shot his wife and their two young children to death on Father's Day and then killed himself, police said.

Chesterfield County police said in a news release Monday that the night before, Barry C. Jernigan, 35, killed his 30-year-old wife, Renotta; his 9-year-old stepdaughter, Alexis F. Kellas; and 2-year-old son, Seth.

Officers went to check on the family at their home just after 10 p.m. Sunday when they heard gunshots and saw bystanders trying to help the mother and the boy outside, police said.

Barry Jernigan and his stepdaughter were found inside the small, white, ranch-style home with a plastic play set on the front porch and trampoline in the backyard. They and the mother died at the scene. The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital.

On Monday morning, neighbors tried to cope with the tragedy while standing near the house with two cars in the driveway that was surrounded by yellow police tape.

"It saddens me to think, Father's Day, of all days; (you) go home and shoot your kids, really?" said next-door neighbor Cindy Nguyen, 29, whose husband and brother-in-law tried to help revive Renotta Jernigan. She had stumbled out of the front door Sunday before collapsing on the lawn. A nurse that lives down the street helped perform CPR on the baby, whose crib, neighbors said, was covered in blood.

Nguyen said that she didn't know the family too well but that the father worked nights, "seemed fine," and typically made small talk with neighbors since the Jernigans moved into the home about two years ago. Barry Jernigan even wished her husband, 30-year-old Harry, a happy Father's Day as he walked along the street Sunday afternoon. The Jernigans recently installed a fence after complaining about items being stolen from their backyard, she said.

Nguyen called the youngest of the victims a "sweet baby boy" and said her son played with the 9-year-old, who was known by her nickname, Lexi.

Jernigan's 67-year-old father, Barry, said he last spoke with his son — who went by Chris — on the phone shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday. He said his son wished him a happy Father's Day and told him he planned to hang around the house until he left for work that evening.

While he had helped the family financially, Jernigan said his son didn't talk to him much about family business, adding that he had been in and out of jobs since graduating from Dinwiddie High School in 1997.

"He was the type of person that he figured he could do everything ... he could deal with it. Over the years, that was his attitude," Jernigan said. "I just wish he would have called me."

Jernigan said he couldn't understand what would've led his son to kill his family and then himself, saying he sounded normal when they last spoke.

"I don't know why he took that little baby, that little baby was the world to me," he said. "Seems like something you'd seen on TV, you'd never think it would happen personally."

Police continued their investigation Monday, with investigators carrying paper bags out of the home. Officers on the scene declined to comment.


http://news.yahoo.com/police-dad-kills-wife-2-kids-fathers-day-164324034.html

Chilling: Troubling texts sent before mother, children murdered


Posted 5:21 pm, June 17, 2014, by CNNwire


CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Virginia — A Chesterfield father shot and killed his wife, son and step-daughter before killing himself, Chesterfield police said.

According to WTVR, investigators identified the victims in Sunday’s triple-murder suicide as: Renotta I. Jernigan, age 30; Seth Jernigan, age two; Alexis F. Kellas, age nine.

Barry C. Jernigan, 35, was also found dead inside the family’s Fox Maple Terrace home, in the McCormick Woods subdivision.

“At this point, the investigation indicates that Barry Jernigan shot his son, step-daughter and wife before turning the gun on himself,” police said.

Police responded to the family’s home just after 10 p.m. on Sunday to check the welfare of a subject, police said.

“Upon arrival, police heard multiple gunshots. Police soon found bystanders attempting to aid Renotta I. Jernigan, 30, and her 2-year-old son, Seth Jernigan, who had both been shot.”

Friends of Renotta I. Jernigan told WTVR that she asked for a divorce eight days before the murder.

A lifelong friend of Renotta’s said she received text messages from Barry, who went by the name Chris. One said, “Hating her is the only way I can breathe on my own. I guess I can say is that I love to hate her and hate loving her.”

The friend said she warned Renotta about the texts.

A “Renotta Jernigan and Children Benefit Fund” was set-up to assist the family with burial costs. Donations can be made at any Bank of McKinney branch.

The investigation into the shooting remains on-going, police said.


http://fox8.com/2014/06/17/chilling-troubling-texts-sent-before-mother-children-murdered/

Police: Man kills wife, children on Father’s Day

POSTED 10:26 AM, JUNE 16, 2014,
UPDATED AT 06:25PM, JUNE 16, 2014
BY SCOTT WISE AND JAKE BURNS,

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – A Chesterfield father shot and killed his wife, son and step-daughter before killing himself, Chesterfield Police said. Investigators identified the victims in Sunday’s triple-murder suicide as:

Renotta I. Jernigan, age 30
Seth Jernigan, age two
Alexis F. Kellas, age nine
Barry C. Jernigan, 35, was also found dead inside the family’s Fox Maple Terrace home, in the McCormick Woods subdivision.

“At this point, the investigation indicates that Barry Jernigan shot his son, step-daughter and wife before turning the gun on himself,” police said.

Police responded to the family’s home just after 10 p.m. on Sunday to check the welfare of a subject, police said.

“Upon arrival, police heard multiple gunshots. Police soon found bystanders attempting to aid Renotta I. Jernigan, 30, and her 2-year-old son, Seth Jernigan, who had both been shot.”

Jernigan died on scene. The child later died at the hospital.

Police found Kellas, Renotta Jernigan’s daughter, and Barry Jernigan inside the house. Both had been shot and were pronounced dead.

A “Renotta Jernigan and Children Benefit Fund” was set-up to assist the family with burial costs. Donations can be made at any Bank of McKinney branch.

The investigation into the shooting remains on-going, police said. Anyone with any information should contact the Chesterfield County Police 804-748-1251.

http://wtvr.com/2014/06/16/jernigan-family-shooting/

Troubling texts preceded Va. man killing wife, children on Father’s Day

POSTED 10:59 PM, JUNE 16, 2014,
UPDATED AT 11:01PM, JUNE 16, 2014
BY PAUL CHOATE,

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Authorities now say troubling texts preceded a Virginia man shooting and killing his wife, son and step-daughter before killing himself on Father’s Day, according to WTVR.

Renotta Jernigan and her two children were killed just eight days after she told her husband, Barry “Chris” Jernigan, she wanted a divorce.

Renotta’s friend, Courtney Winn, told WTVR Renotta was upset by her husband’s inability to keep a job.

On Father’s Day, Chris sent out a goodbye via his work email that read, “God give me the strength to do this.” His last Facebook post was, “Just pray for my kids they understand.”

Chris reportedly sent a text to Courtney that read, “Hating her is the only way I can breathe on my own. I guess I can say is that I love to hate her and hate loving her.”

Courtney reported the disturbing message to Renotta, but it was too late. Several friends mobilized to intervene after seeing Chris’ disturbing texts, emails and Facebook posts.

Police were tracking Chris’ work cell phone around 10 p.m. Sunday, according to WTVR. When they arrived at the home they heard multiple gunshots.

Renotta Jernigan died at the scene from gunshot wounds. Her 2-year-old son, Seth, had also been shot and died later at the hospital. Police later found Chris and Lexi Kellas, Renotta’s daughter from a previous marriage, shot dead inside the house.

Courtney’s brother Benjamin Winn said he saw some of Chris’ Facebook posts the night of the murders.

“Chris was like ‘I can’t live without her,’ and none of us took that as he couldn’t live without her, so nobody else was going to — and he just took her from all of us,” Benjamin said.

http://myfox8.com/2014/06/16/troubling-texts-preceded-va-man-killing-wife-children-on-fathers-day/

Merged duplicate threads.

Father who murdered family caused crash that killed child, in 1999


Posted 4:53 pm, June 18, 2014


CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A Chesterfield man who police said murdered his wife, son, and step-daughter on Father’s Day pleaded guilty in 1999 to reckless driving after a 12-year-old girl riding in his car died during an accident, according to court records from Dinwiddie County.

Court records show Barry Jernigan, better known as Chris, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 1999.

The documents show that Jernigan was “involved in a vehicle accident which killed a child riding in his car without a seat belt.”

The child, Jennifer Caudle, was 12-years-old at the time.

It is unclear what her relationship with Jernigan was at the time, but court records show they had family ties.

Jernigan pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge.

Court records show a judge ended up finding him guilty of a lesser charge, reckless driving, which is a misdemeanor.

CBS 6 also confirmed Caudle’s family sued Jernigan after her death.

Court documents show Jernigan had to pay Caudle’s family thousands of dollars as part of a settlement.

Jernigan was married to Renotta Jernigan for six years.  According to Renotta’s lifelong friend Courtney Winn, Renotta was upset by his inability to keep a job and she “was over it.” She had told him she wanted a divorce.

On Father’s Day Chris sent out a goodbye via his work email that read: “God give me the strength not to do this.”

His last Facebook post was “Just pray for my kids they understand.” Renotta posted a comment asking him to call her.

A final text read “Goodbye everyone.”

Several friends moved quickly to intervene after receiving these messages. They came so close to getting police to Renotta.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday night, police were tracking Chris’ workphone, friends said.
When they arrived to the family home, police heard multiple gunshots, as did neighbors. Police found neighbors attempting to aid Jernigan and her 2-year-old son, Seth, who had both been shot.

Police found Chris and Lexi Kellas, Renotta’s daughter from a previous marriage, shot dead inside the house.

Renotta died on scene, and Seth died later at the hospital.


http://wtvr.com/2014/06/18/jernigan-previously-charged-in-connection-with-juveniles-death-1/

June 18, 2014

Two Modern Orthodox Preteens Murdered By Their Father To Be Buried Today


Bloody_knife 2 Ten-year-old Sara Levy and her 11-year-old brother Yishai were stabbed to death by their Israeli father on June 11 at the moshav in Israel where he lived, just hours after arriving there to visit him.








Two Modern Orthodox Preteens Murdered By Their Father Buried Today


Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Ten-year-old Sara Levy and her 11-year-old brother Yishai were stabbed to death by their Israeli father on June 11 at the moshav in Israel where he lived, just hours after arriving there from America to visit him.

The two children lived in Columbus, Ohio with their mother, Karen Cowgill- Levy, but visited their father twice each year as part of their parents’ divorce agreement.

Both children attended a Modern Orthodox day school, Columbus Torah Academy, and were members along with their mother of a Modern Orthodox synagogue.

Fox 28 reported this morning that the children’s funeral is scheduled to begin late this morning in Columbus, where they will also be buried.

The children's mother had warned that her ex-husband was violent and that she feared for her children.

Her ex-husband reported the murders to police and admitted committing them.

His motive for the killings allegedly was to take revenge on his ex-wife.


http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2014/06/two-modern-orthodox-preteens-murdered-by-their-father-buried-today-456.html

Someone's been working too hard     WHOOPS! But you gals are doing an incredible job.

Me? i've been duplicating videos until 3-4:00 AM. It gets really confusing sometimes straightening out things - so you have my sincere sympathy. As does the dear mother of these children - and it is on record that their father had a temper and had been abusive. Never, ever should happened.

Another stupid decision         made by a stupid judge         against the protests  of their mother.           Result, two dead children.