A 51-year-old New York father was found dead in his home along with his 14-year-old daughter after making a chilling call to his estranged wife in what cops are calling a “murder-suicide.”
Final phone call to estranged wife
On Thursday night, Christopher Wood, 51, made a chilling call to his estranged wife, allegedly telling her: “This is how it ends for us.”
His estranged wife, Heather Wood, said her husband had sent a series of harassing text messages to her two days earlier. She also said a stalking incident involving her husband took place in March of last year, the Daily Mail reported.
The mother and father had had two previous domestic incidents, albeit neither was violent, The Post-Standard reported.
Father and 14-year-old daughter found dead in murder-suicide
On Friday, the Upstate New York Baldwinsville Police Department (BPD) and Sheriff’s office said it received a 911 call from a woman around 8:31 AM, requesting a status check at the Baldwinsville home of Christopher Wood.
Heather Wood called authorities after her daughter did not show up for school on Friday. The woman also told police there were cars in the home’s driveway, but no one was answering the door.
Heather reportedly told the 911 dispatcher that Christopher had been depressed recently, CNY Central reported.
When authorities entered the home, they found 14-year-old Ava Wood, a ninth-grader at Durgee Junior High School in Baldwinsville, dead in her bed with a bullet wound to her head, the Post-Standard of Syracuse reported.
Police found Christopher Wood in another bedroom, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cops recovered a shotgun in his room, the New York Post reported.
Christopher and Heather were still married but were separated, and the two did not live together, Baldwinsville Police Chief Michael Lefancheck said, adding that Ava had primarily lived with her dad.
“It’s difficult, to say the least, it’s not an easy scene for either of us to witness, both the sheriff and I have been in law enforcement for a long time and to have to walk through a scene like that is not an easy thing to do,” Baldwinsville Police Chief Michael Lefancheck said, Fox reported.
Mother thanks community for its love and support
“We want to begin by expressing our gratitude for the outpouring of love that we’ve received in the last 24 hours—it is the love and support from our community that will sustain us in the coming days,” Heather Woods said in a statement. “To Ava’s friends, classmates, and teammates: please continue sharing photos and tributes to Ava. She loved each and every one of you, and we are grateful for the love you have shown her and our family.”
