Jeffrey Manke, Winneconne dad and 2 daughters, Lenora Manke & Jaelyn Manke found dead at Wisconsin home in suspected murder-suicide as children’s mother, Lindsey Dash blames the ‘system’ for failing to protect the girls amid contentious divorce proceedings.
A Wisconsin father and his two daughters were found dead inside a home in what authorities now suspect was the result of a murder-suicide. The tragic findings come after the children’s mother said she had spent years warning authorities her children were not safe, only to be ignored during contentious divorce proceedings.
Authorities identified the victims as Lenora Manke, 11, her sister, Jaelyn Manke, 16, and their father, Jeffrey Manke, 57. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said the three were discovered Friday evening during a welfare check at a residence in the 500 block of Division Street and have called the deaths an isolated incident, with no threat to the public, WCJB reported.
In a Facebook post, the girls’ mother, Lindsey Dash, said her daughters repeatedly told adults they felt unsafe in their father’s care. ‘Everyone they talked to knew they were not safe in his care. And I fought so hard to try to keep them safe,’ the parent wrote, adding that a family counselor ‘dismissed them,’ child protective services reports were filed and police were called. Dash said she was ‘legally forced’ to send the girls for visits despite their fears.
‘The system failed my babies.’
Online court records cited by FOX11 show a judge granted a divorce between Dash, listed as Lindsey Lewandowski, and Jeffrey Manke earlier the same day, finding the marriage ‘irretrievably broken with no chance for reconciliation.’
Court records also show a restraining order had been filed against Manke earlier this year according to NBC26. The restraining order noted that Manke had access to guns. The cause of death is unknown at this time.
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office has not released additional details about how the three died, and the investigation remains ongoing.
‘If someone listened to their cries for help for the last 2 years, they would still be here,’ Dash wrote. ‘The system failed my babies.’
A GiveSendGo fundraiser is supporting the grieving mom, raising just over $25,463 as of a $50K goal, Tuesday noon.
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