Husband Shoots his Wife and Elderly Mother-in-Law in Weekend Domestic Dispute.
A 57-year-old Cheltenham, Pennsylvania man has been arrested after fatally shooting his wife and her mother.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that 57-year-old Frederick Clea was arguing with his wife, 41-year-old Latiya Clea, over a misplaced loaded magazine for his gun.
Mr. Clea tore up the bedroom that the couple shared looking for the missing magazine and when he couldn't find it, he continued to argue with his wife who was in the homes kitchen. As Mrs. Clea was putting away groceries with her mother, Mr. Clea says that he “just started shooting." Mrs. Clea and her mother, Mekenda Saunders, 75, were hit by the gunfire.
Officers were called out to the home for a domestic dispute shortly after noon on Saturday and found Mr. Clea still at the home with the two women. He reportedly told officers that he'd "gone too far" and "shot them".
"Two children, ages 10 and 5, were in the home at the time and are now in the care of relatives, officials said. Police had been to the home twice previously for domestic calls, most recently in December, the affidavit said.
“The combination of a recently purchased gun and anger toward his wife and mother-in-law proved deadly,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement Sunday. “Tragically, two young children are now left without parents and a grandparent in their lives, and the defendant faces spending the rest of his life in prison.”
Autopsies were performed on both women on Sunday and the report says that Latiya Clea died of multiple gunshot wounds, and Saunders died of a gunshot wound to the chest. The manner of death was homicide for both victims, the District Attorney’s Office said.
"Frederick Clea was arraigned on charges of first- and third-degree murder and related crimes. He is being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. There is no bail in Pennsylvania for defendants charged with first-degree murder."
This man had a violent past and it's a shame that these women had to die because he couldn't control his anger. Our prayers are with Mrs. Clea's family and their children.