Authorities in Ohio discovered the body of 56-year-old David L. "Jody" Kromer at a Vermilion Township resort this afternoon. According to officials with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, it appeared Kromer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Kromer was wanted in connection with the kidnapping and murder of 58-year-old Carla Westhofen, a woman whose body was found dumped in a Pennsylvania field last weekend.
"Instead of causing more harm to other people, I’m glad he did it to himself," Carla's son, Todd Dahnke, told morningjournal.com. "It sounds morbid to say, but this is probably the best news we’ve had in a week."
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Some pretty disturbing cases have occurred in Florida in the past year, but an incident that recently occurred in Casselberry, Fla., has got to be one of the most bizarre cases that local law enforcement has ever investigated.
On April 5, 44-year-old Marie Moore and her 20-year-old son Mitchell Moore went to the Shoot Straight Gun Range in Casselberry for an afternoon of target practice – or at least that is what Mitchel was led to believe. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had a much more sinister plan in mind.
After renting two handguns and purchasing ammunition, Moore and her son were led to a booth in the range where they proceeded to take turns shooting at targets. Most of the events that transpired were captured on surveillance video. Nothing on that video seems to suggest an impending tragedy; however, outside appearances can be deceiving, and we now know that Moore was actually biding her time, waiting for the opportune moment to put her plan into action.
At one point, Moore left the booth to purchase additional ammunition. While she was gone, Mitchell continued to shoot at a target down range. Upon Moore's return, mother and son chatted briefly with a man in the next booth. Afterwards, Mitchell refocused his attention on his paper target, unaware that his mother was drawing up her own gun and aiming it directly at his head. Seconds later, Moore fired off a single, execution-style shot into the back of her son's head.
Due to the actions of a single individual, at least 13 young people have been orphaned following a brutal massacre that occurred in Covina, California, on Christmas Eve.
Last Wednesday, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, 45, donned a Santa costume and armed himself with four handguns and a flamethrower before knocking on the front door of a home owned by his ex-wife's parents.
According to police, an eight-year-old girl answered the door, at which time Pardo shot her in the face. Pardo then burst inside, interrupting a Christmas Eve party with a hail of gunfire. Sixteen of the 25 guests managed to make it outside, while the others, who never had a chance to react, were shot execution-style.
Once he was satisfied with the carnage he had inflicted on the unsuspecting family, Pardo took out a homemade pressurized device that he had disguised as a present and doused the interior of the house with a flammable cocktail made up of high-octane racing fuel and compressed air. Unfortunately for Pardo, his plan hit a snag when the vapor suddenly ignited. It remains unclear whether a pilot light or candle was the cause; however, the ensuing fire caused Pardo to suffer third-degree burns to his arms and legs. The heat was so intense that portions of the Santa costume melted onto Pardo's flesh.
Partygoers who had managed to escape, some with serious injury, immediately called 911 to report the shootings and fire.
"He's shooting my whole family. My mum's house is on fire," Pardo's ex-sister-in-law, Leticia, told the emergency dispatcher. "We need someone immediately. My daughter's been shot. She was shot in the face."
Unbeknownst to police and firefighters who arrived on the scene, a severely injured Pardo had already fled the area and was en route to his brother's house in Sylmar, roughly 25 miles from the scene of the shooting.
It took nearly 100 firefighters an hour and a half to finally get the blaze under control. During a walkthrough of the interior, investigators found the charred remains of three victims in the living room area. Not long thereafter, authorities found the remains of five additional victims.
David Lohr has been writing about crime and criminals for over 15 years. Readers and critics alike regard Mr. Lohr as one of the most prominent crime writers of the 21st century. Email David
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