Altoona murder suicide: Blase Raia shoots wife Brooke Raia dead then self during domestic dispute leaving 5 kids orphaned 5 days before Christmas.
And yet again… A Pennsylvania man shot his wife dead Tuesday before turning the gun on himself during a domestic dispute- leaving their five children orphaned just five days before Christmas.
Blase Raia, 39, and Brooke Raia, 34, were arguing around 7 p.m. in the basement of their Altoona, Greenwood home when Blase allegedly fired the handgun on his wife, Logan Township Police Chief Dave Hoover told the Altoona Mirror.
The father of five shot wife, Brooke in the head, before also shooting himself in the head in the suspected murder-suicide.
No known motive or previous police involvement
The couple’s four youngest children were home at the time of the gun violence.
The eldest returned home from work just half an hour after the tragedy to find his parent’s bodies, according to Hoover.
The kids — daughter, Blakely and sons Blase Jr., Brennan, Kamden and Easton, according to Blase’s obituary — were interviewed and released into the custody of other family members.
Kamden and Easton were Brooke’s children from a previous relationship, according to her obituary.
Police have not yet determined a motive and are working to rule out the possibility that others may have been involved. Police did not tell of previous involvement at the family’s Altoona residence.
Local community dumbfounded
Shocked locals described Blase Raia as a friendly man who worked as a machinist at the Juniata Locomotive Shop of Norfolk Southern.
‘He was a nice guy, a good worker,’ Jim Patterson, a retired employee, told the Altoona Mirror. ‘He seemed well-liked by his fellow workers.’
Candy Holliday, a family friend and neighbor of Blase’s who is fundraising for his funeral, said he ‘loved his children more than anything in this world.’
Brooke Raia, formerly Zimmerman, was a caring mother who worked two jobs to support her children, according to her obituary. She managed a local chiropractic office, along with taking shifts at an Amazon warehouse in Altoona.
The couple, who married in 2022, according to Blase’s obituary, were heavily involved in racing — Brooke Raia’s father was a well-known motorcycle racer and became an announcer at a regional speedway while Blase raced dragsters as a hobby.
The racing community has since rallied around the orphaned children, raising more than $75,000 for the kids.
‘While I’m sure Christmas is the last thing on their minds they deserve our support, they need to know that both the racing community & their family stands behind them,’ fundraiser Donny Algieri stated.
