This article is from The Los Angeles Times, October 1991, and indicates that John was in the process of divorcing Kristine when the killings occurred.
Calm Facade Belied Wife's Inner Storm : Killing: Kristine Cushing seemed an ideal traditional mother, but the stress of divorce and illness may have pushed her over the edge.
October 20, 1991|LESLIE BERKMAN and LYNN SMITH | TIMES STAFF WRITERS
"There was nothing, neighbors would say later, that signaled the inner torment that was gnawing away at the 39-year-old homemaker. It was only in retrospect that neighbors would recall that Kristine Cushing seemed to be gradually losing weight, and suffering from a chronic heart condition.
And it was only later that they would re-examine their conversations with Kristine Cushing regarding the breakup of her 17-year marriage.
The facade that was Kristine Cushing's life ended in violence shortly before midnight Oct. 13. Kristine Cushing--the model of the modern super mom--shot and killed her two daughters and then turned the gun on herself in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Police said she later called 911 and told dispatchers what she had done."
and
"Although many of Kristine Cushing's neighbors may not have known, divorce records indicate that she was under a great deal of personal stress at home. She claimed in her divorce papers that her husband was provoking constant arguments.
"We have tried staying in different parts of the home, but this is not working at all," she said.
In addition, because of a heart virus, she said she had been hospitalized twice last year and was under the care of a cardiologist. Her attorneys said that over the past year she also had been counseled by a psychiatrist. The attorneys refused to disclose the reason for the treatment or what kind of drugs she might have been taking.
Kristine Cushing's depression, Kanarek said, probably was exacerbated by the stress of waiting so long for a reunion with her husband, who had served in the Persian Gulf War, only to find when he returned that their 17-year marriage was not going to last.
Divorce attorneys also say that the Cushing case illustrates the despair felt by many older mothers facing the increasingly frightening prospect of a failed marriage.
"There's a tremendous depression that happens with women, especially in some of the traditional marriages," said Mari Frank, a Mission Viejo attorney who specializes in divorce.
"In a lot of cases, the male was the dominant one in the family and he continues to try to dominate in the divorce.""
It is quite a long article, and since it is contemporaneous with the initial incident, it is, in my opinion, quite revealing.
I think it is the husband that one needs to be most wary of.
