PA - family massacre allegedly spurred by long-standing feud

LietKynes

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www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-576...acre-allegedly-spurred-by-long-standing-feud/

Authorities say an estranged daughter and her husband burst into her parents' home, killing her mother and brother, before being shot to death by her father, who apparently didn't realize she was the daughter he hadn't spoken to in about 20 years.

Could not find another thread about this crime. Please merge if it has already been covered.


www.wearecentralpa.com/story/new-details-in-ashville-shooting/d/story/vEvSl6lJkkC6jZLODA_l5g


Sorry, some of the links aren't showing up as 'clickable'.
not sure why.
 
On one link LE said "...her father, who apparently didn't realize she was the daughter he hadn't spoken to in about 20 years."
On other link LE said mother and father had "not spoken to or seen" dau. for about 20 yrs.

Parents in mid-60's; dau. & husband in mid-40's.

Both articles say "estranged" which to me says no contact, or perhaps limited, sporadic contact.
"Feud" suggests continuing, prolonged contact and disagreement between people.

What was basis of estrangement? Was because dau. in early 20's was involved w. guy who parents disapproved of (and she married him, this guy or another guy)? Just drifting apart since dau. was in her teens? Something else?

Where did dau. and husband live? In same area or hours away? Did parents move before or after estrangement?

JM:twocents: and as always, I could be wrong.

Sad and puzzling. Prayers and healing thoughts to all involved.
 
what an odd story...what did the daughter hope to gain? if they hadn't seen the daughter in twenty years....how much of a feud could there be?
 
www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/30/4-pennsylvania-family-members-killed-in-gunfight/

"4 Pennsylvania family members killed in gunfight"

" A two-decade family feud came to a violent end when a man shot dead the two home invaders that killed his wife and son, not knowing the assailants included his long-estranged daughter, authorities said Sunday..."

Not much of a 'feud' if father and daughter were not in touch. Sounds as if the daughter had a grudge .
Nothing like the "Hatfields' and the McCoys'" ... so the msm should refrain from using such terms like 'feud' ; imo.


www.cnn.com/2013/09/29/us/pennsylvania-estranged-daughter-murder/index.html?hpt=us_c2



Well now I can't find it... but an earlier article said that John Frew Sr. had lost his wife and son in a home invasion years earlier ; and that possibly the estranged daughter had been involved in it.
Will try to find the link.

Terrible the problems some people have. How could anyone plan to carry this out ?


www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story/Det...ounty-Pa-Shooting/sbzunXiUQku2XjkXVr3x3Q.cspx

" ...Police have talked with the only surviving victim, John Frew Sr.

They say his wife and son were killed by his estranged daughter her husband..."

If that is the case , one would think the murders would have been the other way around. There is alot more to this story.
 
Bizarre and sad all around.
 
From the foxnews.com link, a couple posts up:
"When Josephine 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."

Hmmm. I wonder -
- how often in the past ~20-23 yrs., parents & dau. had been in touch? When, most recently?
- Was dau's husband her BF at the time of parents' home-trashing?

Also from same link:
"A relative, Virginia Cruse, said the daughter and mother did not get along, but that she had no idea what spawned Friday's tragedy. The daughter had "a hatred toward the family," she said."

"Not get along" suggests what?
Some contact btwn parents & dau. more recent than ~20 yrs?
Or dau. was in contact w. aunt more recently?
And "hatred."

ETA, from same linked story:
"Authorities are still exploring possible motives, but say there may have been burglaries and robberies at the Frew residence in the past."
Which means???
Ok, burglaries = occupants were not there at the time, right?
And robberies = occupants were there?

Still wondering whether dau. & husband lived closeby.
 
From LietKynes a few posts upthread:
"Well now I can't find it... but an earlier article said that John Frew Sr. had lost his wife and son in a home invasion years earlier ; and that possibly the estranged daughter had been involved in it.
Will try to find the link
."

If John Sr. lost his wife in a home invasion yrs. ago, then how could Roberta the woman killed the other day be the mother of Josephine, the 43 y/o dau?
Seems like that woman killed the other day w/b John Sr.'s wife and thus stepmother to Josephine.

Unless .....
John Sr. & Roberta had dau., then separated/divorced, then John Sr. remarried someone else, then there was home invasion yrs ago in which that wife was killed, then he married/remarried Roberta, mother to Josephine, as Roberta was killed the other day. Possible, I guess.

A man with two wives killed in home invasions???

JM:twocents: and as always, I could be wrong (this time I am waaay confused)
 
From LietKynes a few posts upthread:
"Well now I can't find it... but an earlier article said that John Frew Sr. had lost his wife and son in a home invasion years earlier ; and that possibly the estranged daughter had been involved in it.
Will try to find the link."

If John Sr. lost his wife in a home invasion yrs. ago, then how could Roberta the woman killed the other day be the mother of Josephine, the 43 y/o dau?
Seems like that woman killed the other day w/b John Sr.'s wife and thus stepmother to Josephine.

Unless .....
John Sr. & Roberta had dau., then separated/divorced, then John Sr. remarried someone else, then there was home invasion yrs ago in which that wife was killed, then he married/remarried Roberta, mother to Josephine, as Roberta was killed the other day. Possible, I guess.

A man with two wives killed in home invasions???

JM:twocents: and as always, I could be wrong (this time I am waaay confused)

John jr. was 47 years old and Roberta was 64 years old. That made her 17 years old when she gave birth to him, right? So could there have been another wife?

This is a confusing case.
 
Boy does this story have twist and turns. I'm born and raised in Pike County Kentucky, and the H & M feud was not over a pig, (as most thought), But an unmarried preggars gal. Am I reading this right? Is this the second wife he had lost to murder, that murderer being his own flesh and blood?
 
John jr. was 47 years old and Roberta was 64 years old. That made her 17 years old when she gave birth to him, right? So could there have been another wife?

This is a confusing case.

Agreed Filly. I'm totally lost...
 
Filly posted:
"John jr. was 47 years old and Roberta was 64 years old. That made her 17 years old when she gave birth to him, right? So could there have been another wife?"

I think I see what you mean -
- John Jr. was son of John Sr. and wife #1, preceding Roberta?
- Home invasion, w. killing of wife #1 was mannnnnnnnny yrs. ago.
- John Sr remarried, and w. wife #2 Roberta, had dau. Josephine, who shot & killed Roberta.

Filly Is ^that ^ what you're saying?

I can see that, but what are the odds of a man having two wives killed in home invasions?

Anybody hitting pay dirt on sleuthing home invasion & wife #1?
Maybe Liet will find the link to 'missing' article.
 
I hope they actually check all the trajectories, ballistics, and gun powder residues on everybody who was supposed to have been shooting.
 
thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2013/09/daughter-shoots-and-kills-mother-being-shot-father

"The father of the family, John Frew Sr., told police that he found his wife’s body by the front door and his son’s body in their kitchen, reports the Washington Post. He then turned on the intruders, not knowing that they were his estranged daughter and her husband..."

I was just curious what the daughter and son-in-law were doing during the time John Sr. found the bodies ; not to be too morbid .... but one would think that they had time to shoot the elder Frew ?

Looked for FB pages for any of these people and cannot find any.


www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Police-Daughter-killed-Pa-mom-with-shotgun-4854449.php





www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/575260/-Oh-my-God--they-have-guns-.html?nav=742

(The Altoona Mirror gives a bit more info about how everything unfolded.)

"...Matchik said John Sr., by this point, was able to retrieve a .22-caliber revolver from a rear bedroom, and returned to find his daughter on one knee in the living room, pointing the shotgun at him..."


"...At this time, John Frew Sr. turned and saw the male intruder crouched against the refrigerator in the kitchen, firing a handgun at him," Matchik said..."


https://www.facebook.com/AltoonaMirror



www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/29/daughter-killed-mom-shotgun/2891963/
Checked the comments attached to this article ...not too much by way of information. Lots of opinions about how the article was edited. *rolls eyes * Geeze , people...
 
Filly posted:
"John jr. was 47 years old and Roberta was 64 years old. That made her 17 years old when she gave birth to him, right? So could there have been another wife?"

I think I see what you mean -
- John Jr. was son of John Sr. and wife #1, preceding Roberta?
- Home invasion, w. killing of wife #1 was mannnnnnnnny yrs. ago.
- John Sr remarried, and w. wife #2 Roberta, had dau. Josephine, who shot & killed Roberta.

Filly Is ^that ^ what you're saying?

I can see that, but what are the odds of a man having two wives killed in home invasions?

Anybody hitting pay dirt on sleuthing home invasion & wife #1?
Maybe Liet will find the link to 'missing' article.

Al, honestly I don't know what the heck I was saying. :seeya: I just figured it made Roberta too young to have Josephine? If that makes sense?

I checked Intelius to see if I came up with any first wife's name, but nada. Then again if it was long ago?

There's got to be an obituary somewhere.

Off to check. BTW the name John Frew is fairly common. Who knew? FWIW there's a guy out Pittsburgh way with that name who on his FB posted....... I am not the John Frew who was shot and I am still alive.
 
The Daily Mail says:

"Roberta Frew's sister, Virginia Cruse, said the daughter and mother did not get along, but that she had no idea what spawned Friday's tragedy. The daughter had 'a hatred toward the family,' she said.
When Josephine 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 told MailOnline 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. (sic) [Note, we know from the obit linked to above that the maternal grandmother the Ruckingers took care of died in 2009.]

'We're all pretty mad at her for that little stunt. She took everything from my mom before she passed away,' Mrs Skinner said.

and

"Mrs Skinner said bonds, jewelry and thousands of dollars in cash disappeared while Josephine was taking care of her.

She added that Josephine's feud with her family has been running for decades."


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ud-inheritance-ends-4-dead.html#ixzz2gQaxialV
 
From Liets' link, a few posts up, pub. date 09/30/13, http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/c...-my-God--they-have-guns-.html?nav=742:quoting PA Trooper spokesman:
"A motive is still being explored at the present time. It has been reported that there have been burglaries and thefts that have occurred at the Frew residence in the past," Matchik said, adding it is unclear how many occurred and when, or whether they are related to the shooting."

Another MSM article referenced burglaries and robberies, as if occupants were present. Maybe inexact wording?

Any info on how long the couple lived there?
Is it possible burglaries, etc. occured at another home & city?
 
From Liets' link, a few posts up, pub. date 09/30/13, http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/c...-my-God--they-have-guns-.html?nav=742:quoting PA Trooper spokesman:
"A motive is still being explored at the present time. It has been reported that there have been burglaries and thefts that have occurred at the Frew residence in the past," Matchik said, adding it is unclear how many occurred and when, or whether they are related to the shooting."

Another MSM article referenced burglaries and robberies, as if occupants were present. Maybe inexact wording?

Any info on how long the couple lived there?
Is it possible burglaries, etc. occured at another home & city?

Just from looking it up the elder Frew's only come up living in two towns total, and I'm guessing the towns are real close together. The son, John Jr. comes up as only living in the one.

The DD and husband only come up in that Blandsburg I think it is.

One of the things I was wondering about considering if there was a first wife of Mr. Frew Sr. I just searched my tail off and didn't find anything. Don't mean it wasn't so though. BUT obviously Roberta is the mom of Josephine as she is younger than her now deceased brother, John Jr.

The second thing is that was her MATERNAL grammy so that makes it even more bizarre. She took care of her mother's mother, but hated her mom? How did that work for the gram? Had to be very tough. Was she estranged by her own daughter because the grandaughter took care of her? I thought it was her paternal gram which would have still been difficult, but nope.

Also nobody moved out of that area in general. Like, didn't they run into eachother at all? I can see just ignoring eachother in passing, but how did the dad not actually see her to recognize her? I guess it could happen.
 
'We're all pretty mad at her for that little stunt. She took everything from my mom before she passed away,' Mrs Skinner said.

and

"Mrs Skinner said bonds, jewelry and thousands of dollars in cash disappeared while Josephine was taking care of her.

She added that Josephine's feud with her family has been running for decades."


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ud-inheritance-ends-4-dead.html#ixzz2gQaxialV[/QUOTE]

RSBM

Hard to find much online regarding the Frews. Some people just don't do FB or Myspace or whatever....

Sounds like the DM uncovered motivation for the feud.

Wanted to add something else some of you may have thought of ; but do not want to wander too far into speculation.
 

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