A daughter has killed her mother and brother before being shot dead by her father after a family argument relating to an inheritance.
The daughter, Josephine Ruckinger, 43 and her husband Jeffrey, 43 allegedly plotted to kill her family at their house in rural Pennsylvania.
The ensuing violence which took place this past Friday night would end up leaving the couple dead along with the daughter’s mother and brother.
Authorities went on to tell at the time, the daughter who had been estranged from her family for years rang the family doorbell and proceeded to ambush her mother Roberta Frew, 64.
Cried out the mother: ‘Oh my God, they have guns!’ before Mrs Ruckinger opened fire at point-blank range with a sawed-off shotgun.
From there, the brother, John Frew Jr., 47, tried to grab a gun, but Jeffrey Ruckinger, a truck mechanic, shot him multiple times in the chest with a Derringer and a .22-caliber pistol.
Josephine Ruckinger’s father, John Frew Sr. from there went on to retrieve a .22-caliber revolver, not realizing who the attackers were.
‘As he emerged into the room, he observed the female intruder down on one knee and at that point, he observed the 12-gauge shotgun pointing in his direction,’ State Trooper spokesman John Matchik told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
That’s when the father unwittingly went on to shoot his daughter dead in the head.
Authorities tell the father then turned and saw Jeffrey Ruckinger, who fired a shotgun at him from the trailer’s kitchen. The father consequently returned fire immediately killing his son in law.
Uninjured the father then proceeded to call 911.
Upon their arrival, police found the daughter still alive but with a gunshot wound in the head. She was rushed to Altoona UPMC Trauma Center where she was later pronounced dead.
Toxicology tests have yet to be completed on the deceased.
Told state trooper Matchik:
‘He had no idea that was his daughter, until everything had unfolded.’
Reiterated Cambria County District Attorney, Kelly Callihan: ‘Clearly these two individuals came to this house to carry out a planned deadly attack on his family,’
‘I would characterize it as a home invasion that was a murder plot.’
Authorities went on to tell that the Ruckingers had planned to destroy any evidence of their murder. Searches of their vehicle turned up a gas can, lighter fluid and a large amount of ammunition.
When the daughter was about 20, she and a boyfriend trashed her parents’ home and stole items including a pistol, then fled to Pittsburgh, Cruse said. After that, she said, ‘more or less, they disowned her.’
Roberta’s other sister Carol Skinner went on to tell the UK’s dailymail that the family was angry after Mrs Ruckinger moved her grandmother – Roberta and Carol’s mother – in with her and her husband shortly before she died in 2007. It is understood that the daughter had not seen her mother in over 20 years.
Told Carol Skinner: ‘We’re all pretty mad at her for that little stunt. She took everything from my mom before she passed away.’
And then there was this comment on the web that made me wonder as well:
I don’t know about this 🙁 if the daughter had already bled all the money dry, and she and her family had been estranged for that long that people didn’t even know she existed, what lit the fuse? why now? awful, and I don’t know how her father is going to recover emotionally from it, if ever
Jeff Ruckinger’s brother Brian Ruckinger went on to tell triblive.com that his brother and Josephine had been married a few years and had no children.
Interestingly it was later disclosed that nearby neighbors did not even know the Frews had a daughter – they thought John Jr was the couple’s only child.
The shootings have since now became the talk of Ashville, a town described as being very quiet with little or no industry.
‘It’s an older town,’ resident Joe Speranza told triblive. ‘We’re not used to this. It’s very unusual for this to happen over here. You would never think anything like this would happen.’
Reiterated Ken Wills: ‘People will be on their toes for a few years.’
Then there was this comment on the web that made me wonder as well:
I don’t know about this 🙁 if the daughter had already bled all the money dry, and she and her family had been estranged for that long that people didn’t even know she existed, what lit the fuse? why now? awful, and I don’t know how her father is going to recover emotionally from it, if ever…
