Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Shaler, PA: Police ID Pa. man who fatally shot girlfriend, 2 young daughters before killing himself

By Associated Press, Published: May 23
SHALER, Pa. — Police investigating a triple murder-suicide have released the names of the two adults and two children killed.

Police say Barry Hardesty and his girlfriend, Lynette Gasparre, were found dead in their rented home Sunday night, along with her daughters, 7-year-old Quinn and 1-year-old Nina.

Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press ) - A home at 404 Beulah Road in Shaler, Pa., Monday, May 23, 2011 is where Shaler police believe a man shot and killed his wife and two daughters before killing himself Sunday evening. The man shot his wife and children once each in the head late Sunday night, according to Shaler Township Police Chief Jeff Gally.

Shaler Township Police Chief tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Hardesty appears to have shot and killed the Gasperres before turning the gun on himself.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

A father killed his wife and two daughters — one an infant, the other about 8 years old — before turning the gun on himself inside the family’s rented suburban home, police said Monday.

The man shot his relatives once each in the head late Sunday night, but investigators had “no indication of what caused this tragedy at this point,” Shaler Township Police Chief Jeff Gally told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Neighbors told the newspaper that they heard sounds of a loud argument, followed by gunshots about 15 to 20 minutes later.

The body of one girl, approximately 8 years old, was found in a hallway and the bodies of the mother and an infant daughter were found on a bed. The father’s body was found on the bedroom floor. Police said he may have still been breathing when authorities arrived but soon died.

The family appeared to have moved into the rented home in the last three or four weeks, Gally said. Police have not released their names.

Police described the neighborhood as quiet and largely crime-free. The home where the shooting occurred is one of about 10 houses on a dead-end street.

On Monday, crime scene tape was wrapped around the property of the split-level home, which had a Chevy Silverado pickup truck and Dodge Challenger sitting in the driveway. Outside, several people stood and watched investigators move in and out of the house.

Investigators recovered a .357-caliber handgun from the house, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Shaler Township is a residential community of nearly 30,000 just minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Gov. Tom Corbett lives in a farmhouse in Shaler, but a spokesman said Monday the shooting was not near his home.

Corbett was in Shaler last week as he recuperated from back surgery, and had returned to Harrisburg by Saturday, his spokesman said.

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