We’ve all seen the news at some point in time. We are all too familiar with crimes and the devastation they leave behind. Whether it’s a robbery or a murder, each act of violence rattles us. Some of the worst crimes we can possibly hear about involve children—young children who are helpless against their attackers. To make matters worse, these attackers are sometimes their own flesh and blood: The parents.
Here are some of the worst family murders we have unfortunately had to hear about:
Andrea Yates
In June 2001, Andrea Yates drowned all five of her children. The Houston mother suffered a nervous breakdown in 1999 and had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals when she committed the horrific crime. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but in 2002 the jury rejected the defense. In 2005, the decision was reversed. But one year later, the decision was reversed yet again and she is currently committed to a mental hospital for her unthinkable crime.
Connie Henriksen Foster
The tight-knit town of Huntsville, Alabama mourned Connie Henriksen Foster and her two children, Layla House, 10, and David “Danger” House, 8, after their bodies were found by Foster’s husband, Graham. None of the bodies showed evidence of gunshot or stab wounds, but the deaths were believed to be a murder-suicide. Court records showed that Connie and her ex-husband, David House, were in the middle of a heated custody fight for their two children.
Christy Sheats
On June 24, 2016, Texas mom Christy Sheats called a family meeting, which included her estranged husband Jason Sheats, and two daughters, Taylor, 22, and Madison, 17. Jason assumed she would be telling their two teenage daughters that the couple was divorcing. Instead, the 42-year-old mother pulled out a .38-caliber handgun and shot her two daughters, point-blank. She had “ample time and opportunity” to shoot Jason as well, but she did not because she “wanted him to suffer,” Jason later said in a statement. Police called to the scene shot and killed Christy.
Eugene Savenok
The small town of Eden Prairie, Minnesota was rocked when a 26 week pregnant woman was found stabbed to death. A pregnant mother of two was murdered by her husband of nearly six years. According to the Star Tribune, 23-year-old Lyuba Savenok was 26 weeks pregnant when her husband, Eugene, allegedly stabbed her to death. Their son, who would have been named Ellis, was delivered via emergency C-section, but died several minutes after delivery. The couple’s two young children — Matthew, 4, and Vivienne, 3 — were not harmed.
A Family Background Check Could Save a Life
You never want to hear about stories like this, especially because you never know if they will happen to you.
Nip your worries in the bud by using a people search service to perform a background check on anyone you hire or enter a new relationship with. Your potential spouse, your child’s preschool teacher, the nice handyman from down the street? Any of them could have a darkened past that will affect your own future without doing your proper due diligence.
Protect yourself—protect your family.
