GUILTY FL - Steven & Michelle Andrews, both 28, murdered, Fort Myers, 27 Dec 2005

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,179949,00.html

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — The parents of a 2-year-old boy were found dead in their home Tuesday after the toddler called 911, authorities said.

Steven and Michelle Andrews, both 28, were found in their home shortly after 7 a.m., said Lee County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ileana LiMarzi. The couple's son was found unharmed in the home, and was taken to other family members, LiMarzi said.

Investigators said the boy phoned 911. No information was immediately released on how the couple died.

Wow! This baby called 911? That is amazing! First that he knew to call, and that he knew what numbers to call and that he knew how to tell them what was wrong. Many 2 year old's won't talk on the phone, and often can't be understood if they try.
Kudo's to the 911 operator who took this seriously.

The 2-year-old son of a couple found dead Tuesday inside their Gateway home stayed on the phone with a 911 operator until deputies arrived.

The performance of Luke Andrews, 2, has sparked discussion around Southwest Florida about just how capable a toddler can be of using the telephone at that age.

“He dialed 911, and they could tell there was a child on the other line,” Lee County sheriff’s spokesman Ileana LiMarzi said this morning. “He wasn’t saying much to dispatchers."

But the boy was still on the line when the first deputies arrived at 12221 Eagle Point Circle and discovered the bodies of Steven Andrews, 28, and his wife, Michelle Andrews, 28.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051228/NEWS01/51228006/1075

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5804343.html

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Former Edina couple found dead in their Florida home

...It's also unclear how the couple's young son called 911. Neighbors in the upscale, gated neighborhood of Cypress Pointe reported seeing blood on his socks. He was taken to be with family members.
In Edina, where the couple had lived until August 2004, news of their deaths stunned former neighbors and co-workers.

"We had just gotten a Christmas letter from them," said Todd Carsen, executive director of the Edina Care Center, a nursing home here where Michelle managed the dietary department.

Aside from expressing frustration at dealing with recent hurricanes, Michelle wrote "how much she and Steve were in love, and how happy they were down in Florida," Carsen said.

They had moved to Florida after Steven got a job there as a landscape architect, having just earned his master's degree from the University of Minnesota.

They had purchased a house along France Avenue in Edina about two or three years ago, shortly after they were married, neighbors said.

"They were sweethearts," said Terry Knaffla, their next-door neighbor in Edina.

He and others said the couple were a model of wholesome, young "puppy love," quick to show each other affection.

Steven would often accompany Michelle on her almost-daily several-mile runs, or when she took their golden retriever for walks...

I wonder if the killer actually dialed 911 and handed the phone to the child before leaving?

Amraann said:

I wonder if the killer actually dialed 911 and handed the phone to the child before leaving?

Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of that. There have been so many murder suicide's lately that I am ashamed to say that was my first thought. But good point Amra.

Amraann said:

I wonder if the killer actually dialed 911 and handed the phone to the child before leaving?

Click to expand...

<shudder> That's very possible.

Amraann said:

I wonder if the killer actually dialed 911 and handed the phone to the child before leaving?

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly after reading the first post.


I'd like to know the timeline... estimated time of death.

I have seen (on TV) where they had the littlest heroes and one little boy, around the age of 2 called 911 when his mother went into a diabetic coma. But, the killer dialing and handing it to the child is very plausible as well.

The boy opened the door, said "Mommy" and walked toward a stairway where police found the body of his mother, Michelle Andrews, and removed the child from the home.

Police also found the body of Steven Andrews, also 28.
http://pub2.bravenet.com/news/92920030/33204/4
What a brave little baby! I hope there is someone out there to hug him, and hold him, and love him, and care for him. This little guy is a keeper!

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is treating the deaths of two Gateway community residents as a double homicide, an investigator said this afternoon.

Major Jeff Taylor said that he had hoped to release more specific information about the deaths this afternoon, but autopsies of Steven and Michelle Andrews, both 28 years old, had not been completed.

Taylor said that it's not uncommon for homicides to be committed by someone who knows the victims. But he declined to speculate whether that was true in this case.

He said he didn't want to limit the investigation to "one narrow pathway" at this point.

Taylor encouraged residents of Gateway neighborhoods to think back to the hours between 11 p.m. Monday night and 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and to please call the sheriff's office if they noticed anything unusual.

He said he considered Gateway, and all of Lee County, a safe community, but that residents should always secure their homes at night.

“He dialed 911, and they could tell there was a child on the other line,” LiMarzi said this morning. “He wasn’t saying much to dispatchers."

"When dispatchers received the call it was basically an 'open line.' The child was not having a conversation with the dispatcher, but was making enough noise that the dispatcher could tell that there was a child on the other end," she said. "Our equipment works on voice activation therefore silence is not recorded. Since the child’s voice was so soft what you will basically hear is at the end of the call when the deputy takes the phone from the child and informs dispatch that she is on scene."

But the boy was still on the line when the first deputies arrived at the house and discovered the bodies.

Deputy Tracie Gaydash knocked on the door of the house. Luke opened the door, said "Mommy," and walked toward a stairway, according to sheriff's reports.

Gateway resident Lisa Potter took care of Luke for a few hours after the call was made and before he was given to other family members. She said Luke did not show signs of trauma when she took him home. Potter said she doesn’t know if he could call 911 but said he did not appear to be potty-trained.
“I changed his diaper,” she said.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051228/NEWS01/51228014/1075

This 2 year old could possibly have dialed 911. When my son was 14 months, I had my phone on speed dial to important numbers. I thought was just playing babbling on the phone and told him to hang it up now so he could get a bath. He kept saying "No, my Papa" so I just hung up the phone. Before I could get him up the stairs my phone rang, it was my Dad asking me why did I hang up on him! Ohmygosh, my son had been calling his Papa for over 2 weeks 3-4 times a day! He'd been calling my sister also. They thought I was calling them for him, but he knew even at that age which button to push to get his Papa. I just thought he was pretending he was talking on the phone. I showed him to dial 911 if "mommy got real sick" when he was 2. So it's possible that little guy knew how to get help for his parents.

It just makes me cry.

Either someone prepared him very well for what to do when the policeman came, or he actually knew what he was doing. When the officers got there he just said "Mommy", and led them right to her body.
I hate what happened to his parents. They sounded like a very nice, caring couple.
But I am so happy they didn't kill the baby. This could have been so much worse.

This is very sad

A young boy alone with his parents did. We don't know if he saw them murdered or what happened. And it seems as if the couple was very much in love, two.

Poor little boy. I'm sending many prayers his way.

This is so sad. The little guy is lucky to of been spared but he sure will grow up missing them. Such a tragedy!

My deepest sympathy for the families....

Officials did not provide details on the cause of death, including whether a weapon was used. They said the deaths apparently occurred between 11 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday.

A preliminary autopsy report ruled out homicide-suicide, Maj. Jeff Taylor of the Sheriff's Office violent crimes unit said.

The family moved to Florida from Minnesota last year. Steven Andrews was a landscape architect in Bonita Springs and his wife, Michelle, was a nutritionist in Fort Myers.

Their son has been placed with relatives, authorities said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...oddler,0,3160921.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=114998

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At home in Minnesota, friends are remembering two people who loved life and each other.

Marilee Dunsmore worked with Michelle and knew the family well. She received a holiday letter just last week, that told her how well they were doing in Florida and that the couple was celebrating six years of marriage and falling more in love everyday.

"I don't think there was anything more important to Michelle than her family, her husband and her son," said Marilee.

Michelle was a dietician at Edina Care Center and Steven recently earned a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Minnesota. Last year they sold their Edina home and moved to Fort Myers where Steven found work.

Angela Reierson bought the couple's Edina home and remembers how hard it was for them to sell it, "They just really loved this home and wished they could take it to Florida with them. That's just really what I remember."

Marilee says Michelle was hesitant to move, "I know she had a lot of mixed feelings about moving to Florida. She liked her job. She had her friends and her family here. It was just a scary move."

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=114998

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Sheriff: "Closure" imminent in Gateway slayings


Detectives have leads and are close to "closure" in the slayings of a young Gateway couple, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott has told news-press.com in a statement.

Autopsy results — which will explain cause of death and approximate time of death — are expected today on Steven and Michelle Andrews, both 28.

In his statement to news-press.com, Scott said:

“We’re taking it very very seriously as we do any time there’s loss of life. Our detectives are working overtime following leads. We do have leads, and we do believe that we’re well on the way to some type of resolve here.

"I don’t believe this will be an open-ended crime. I do believe that we’ll have some closure here for the victims and for the community.”

The house in the Cypress Point neighborhood of Gateway where the double homicide occurred remains a sealed crime scene

The video link here is just so sad .

http://wcco.com/local/local_story_362190549.html

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Authorities originally believed the boy called 911, but now said it is possible someone else inside the house made the call. The boy, Luke, was heard in the background during the 911 call, most of which was silent.