Couple and 5-Year-Old Daughter Dead in Apparent Murder Suicide.
A horrible scene was found last night at a brownstone in Harlem. A couple and their 5-year-old daughter were all found dead after a wellness check by police.
Reports say that the woman's brother called authorities to have them check on his sister after he hadn't heard from her. Police responded shortly after 9pm last night and found three people dead inside of the apartment.
A 46-year-old man was found in the bedroom unconscious and unresponsive, police said. His 42-year-old wife was found in the bathroom with trauma to her neck and their daughter was found in another bedroom also with severe neck trauma, according to police. Both the woman and the girl were slashed in the throat, police sources said.
Their identities have been confirmed as Yonathan Tedla and Jennifer Schlecht, and their daughter as Abaynesh Schlecht Tedla.
The New York Daily News says that Schlecht, a former Peace Corps worker, was decapitated and her head was found in her lap.
"The 42-year-old slain woman’s father, Kenneth Schlecht, told the Daily News the couple’s marital strife began about five years ago after the birth of their child. Tedla, who was originally from Ethiopia, had recently threatened his wife if she went to court to dissolve their marriage.
“The last time we talked to our daughter was on Sunday,” recalled the 75-year-old dad. “She was in tears, said her husband had indicated that if she served him with divorce papers he would ruin her or take them all out. Which was apparently what he did.”
His desperate daughter went to file for an order of protection Tuesday only to find courts closed for election day, he said. She was determined to go the next day, the day of the killings. She never made it, according to a courts spokesman."
This is a completely horrible thing for any family to have to go through. We're urging anyone who fears for their safety to please seek help!
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline by either clicking here or calling 1-800-799-7233.