Latest news with #MarissaLearaRowell
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Blood-soaked girl, 5, runs for help after watching dad kill her mom, grandma, aunt & himself in family massacre
A FIVE-year-old girl ran for help drenched in blood after witnessing her dad shoot three of her family members before turning the gun on himself. In a horrific case of murder-suicide, Christopher Bobby Rowell, 34, shot dead the girl's mom, grandma, aunt and himself at a home in Nassau County, Florida. 4 4 4 Cops said they were alerted to the incident when the young girl showed up at a neighbor's house covered in blood after witnessing the horrendous attack. The victims were later identified as the child's mom, mother Marissa Leara Rowell, 32, grandma, Sandra Gayle Fogarty, 71, and aunt Alisha Lael Fogarty, 33. They had all been at the Florida home when Rowell launched his deadly assault at around 8pm on July 24. Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper told a news conference the child, known as Winter, was in the back of the house when she heard a gunshot. She walked down the hallway to see what was going on when a woman grabbed her and pushed her into a nearby bathroom. Winter was then splattered with the woman's blood, who was shot just moments after bravely saving the child. When authorities arrived, they found one woman's body lying lifeless in a pool of blood between the living and dining room. A second woman was discovered dead in a bathroom, while a third was found shot in a bedroom. Rowell was still alive but later died in hospital of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, cops said. Speaking to First Coast News, Melissa's cousin said the victim had been planning to leave her violent husband and was in the process of buying a house. At least three dead in horror mass shooting after gunman opens fire at Bangkok market He added: "I was at work listening to the radio and I had heard the shooter's name and as soon as I heard his name, my heart just skipped, I knew instantly." A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help with the cost of funeral arrangements and care for the child who - in a matter of minutes - was left orphaned. Fundraiser Dane Antkowiak said: "This child now faces a future without the warmth and loving support of her family, and we are committed to ensuring she receives the care and love she needs to heal from this traumatic incident." In a heartbreaking tribute to the three victims, Dane highlighted the trio's devotion to the young girl and the "joy and love" they brought to everyone around them. He said: "We are heartbroken and devastated to share the tragic news of the loss of a beloved mother, "Grandmother, and aunt, who were taken from us and our 5-year-old niece Winter far too soon in a senseless act of violence." The devastating attack comes as a sadistic survivalist who killed an entire family after breaking into their home was found dead after a four-month manhunt. Chilling TikTok videos of the mass murderer, posted in the weeks following the attack, showed him laughing maniacally at the camera while wearing a creepy clown mask. Alexander Meisner, a 61-year-old Kazakh national, massacred an entire German family including a teenager and his parents. Meisner, himself a dad-of-five and grandfather, entered the Schulze family home in the Rhineland village of Weitefeld in the early hours of April 6. He carried out the evil assault in the dead of night armed with a knife and a gun. 4
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Mother, grandmother, and aunt killed by deranged husband in murder suicide — leaving slain mom's 5-year-old daughter running for help
A blood-soaked 5-year-old girl ran to get help after witnessing her father kill her mom, aunt and grandmother before turning the gun on himself in a horrific murder-suicide at their Florida home, according to authorities and reports. Deputies found the three dead women and the dying shooter, identified as 34-year-old Christopher Bobby Rowell, at a home in Hilliard on the evening of July 24, Nassau County authorities said. The three victims were later identified as the girl's devoted mother Marissa Leara Rowell, 32; grandmother Sandra Gayle Fogarty, 71; and aunt Alisha Lael Fogarty, 33, according to a GoFundMe posted for the grieving family. 3 The young girl's grandmother Sandra Gayle Fogarty, mother Marissa Leara Rowell, and aunt Alisha Lael Fogarty were killed in a murder-suicide by Rowell's husband, Christopher Bobby Rowell. GoFundMe Authorities were alerted to stomach-turning crime when Marissa Rowell's 5-year-old daughter ran to a neighbor's house for help after she witnessed her family being slaughtered, cops said. 'The child said she was in the back of the house, heard a gunshot,' Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said in a news conference following the incident. 'She came down the hallway, saw a female on the floor in the living room/dining room area — another female grabbed her and put her in the bathroom. When that individual was shot, she got blood splattered on her,' he said. Christopher Rowell was Melissa Rowell's husband, the victim's cousin Steven Hallmark told First Coast News. 3 Authorities were alerted to the scene when Marissa Rowell's 5-year-old daughter ran to a neighbor's house for help after she witnessed her family being slaughtered. News4JAX 'I was at work listening to the radio and I had heard the shooter's name and as soon as I heard his name, my heart just skipped, I knew instantly,' Hallmark told the outlet. 'My aunt just bought a house, and they were in the process of moving. Marissa was going to be leaving him, taking the kid,' he said. The violent husband was still alive with a slight pulse when authorities arrived, but later died in the hospital of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, cops said. He was lying beside an SKS-style rifle when he was found, News4Jax reported. The front door was unlocked when cops arrived, and one woman's body was lying on the floor between the living room and dining room in a pool of blood, Leeper detailed. A second woman was discovered in a hallway bathroom, dead from head injuries, and the third was found shot to death in a bedroom, cops said. The little girl was not harmed. 3 Marissa Rowell was reportedly going to leave her husband and take her 5-year-old daughter with her when he went on the bloody rampage, a relative said. News4JAX 'The family we lost were cherished individuals who brought joy and love to everyone around them,' relatives of the three women wrote in a fundraiser statement. 'We lost a devoted mother (Marissa Leara Rowell), who was a guiding light for her five-year-old daughter, a loving first-time grandmother (Sandra Gayle Fogarty) who waited her whole life to have a granddaughter in her life, and a devoted aunt (Alisha Lael Fogarty) who was crazy for her niece and loved spending hours playing games with her and being by her side like a sister,' the statement wrote. 'This child now faces a future without the warmth and loving support of her family, and we are committed to ensuring she receives the care and love she needs to heal from this traumatic incident,' the heartbroken family said. A GoFundMe to support cremation expenses has raised over $8,000 of its $15,000 goal.
