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A New York woman sent her husband on an errand on Wednesday, then allegedly used a shotgun to kill her father, her ten-year-old daughter and herself.
Police say Penelope Luddy, 53, persuaded her 57-year-old husband, Michael, to go visit a sick relative around 8:30 am.
When he returned just over an hour later, he found his wife dead and his daughter, Alexandra, and father-in-law, 79-year-old Harold Bertram, gravely wounded in the finished basement of their Perinton home.
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Tragic: Alexandra Luddy, ten, was found gravely wounded in the basement of her Perinton, New York home. It is believed the young girl was shot by her mother
Both Bertram and the girl had been shot twice. There were signs of a struggle in the basement, where Bertram had been living for some years, investigators said.
The older man managed to tell sheriff's deputies what had happened just before he died.
His injuries 'were very severe, so he was very limited in the amount (of information) he could provide to us' at the home and in an ambulance, said sheriff's Lieutenant Michael Fowler.
Bertram told deputies that 'she had shot both the daughter and him prior to taking her life,' O'Flynn said.
Family: Harold Bertram, 79, (centre) was pronounced dead in hospital after the shooting
Both Alexandra and Bertram died from their injuries at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Penelope Luddy did not leave a note.
Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said Luddy had been 'extremely distraught' for the past few weeks and may have been undergoing treatment.
He declined to elaborate except to say that 'the family had been concerned.'
Authorities could not say if the woman planned the murders.
Investigators said she sent her husband out to check on a sick relative that morning, and shortly after he left the shooting took place.
Quiet neighbourhood: Police are investigating an apparent double-murder suicide at a home in the wooded suburban town, near Rochester, New York
Investigation: Cop cars line the street near the home where Penelope Luddy, 53, persuaded her husband, Michael, to run an errand before the shootings
Disturbing: Michael Luddy told police he returned home to find his wife dead and his daughter and father-in-law gravely wounded in the finished basement
It is unclear who owned the 12-gauge shotgun Luddy used. The couple had obtained pistol permits in September, but police were unable to find any record of either buying a gun, O'Flynn said.
No permit would have been required for the shotgun, he said.
Luddy typically drove her daughter, a fifth-grader, from the home on a quiet cul-de-sac in a hilly section of the Rochester suburb to her elementary school in nearby Pittsford shortly after 9am each morning.
Penny and Allie, as their friends called them, were involved in Girl Scouts, and were well-known in the community.
In a statement to 13WHAM News, their friends said: 'For people who didn’t know her, Penny was a devoted mother, a former scout leader, loved by children and mothers alike. She had been ill and suffering for some time. It’s a horrible tragedy.'
Press conference: Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said it appears Mrs Luddy shot her ten-year-old daughter and 79-year-old father
Pittsford Central School District officials said counsellors were on hand at the girl's school for students, faculty and staff members.
A statement issued by school officials late Wednesdsay afternoon read: 'It is with great sadness that we share the news that one of our students was killed in an isolated domestic incident. Alexandra Luddy, a fifth grade Jefferson Road Elementary School student, was the victim of a murder/suicide in her home.
'The circumstances surrounding this event are tragic and children, parents and staff may need support during this difficult time.'
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-20...l#ixzz1hFhmbULX.
