Tuesday, January 24, 2006

A little too close to home

This story has been all over the local news today. Since its close to where we live, it literally hits too close to home. A woman and her 9 month old baby girl were found shot to death in their house, huddled together in the woman's bed, under a pile of blankets. The missing husband, of course, is a suspect. Actually, they're calling him "a person of interest" which says to me that the authorities don't want to jump to any conclusions. But in the wake of the Laci Peterson murders, I'm willing to bet that the husband in this case has already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.

On the Boston news stations they're showing pictures from the family website. Pictures of a happy couple and they're adorable infant girl. Nice pictures from happy times. Looking at them I can't help but wonder Did She Know? If, in fact, it is the husband to blame in this case, did the woman know she married a man who had the capacity for murder? Did they start out together on this journey called marriage like most people, full of promise and hope, or was there always something menacing lying underneath the surface? And what about the baby? What makes a person shoot a helpless infant? You can't tell from the pictures.

My baby, the Child, is also 9 months. When I look into her face I'm horrified at the idea that someone could kill her. Someone could look at that same beautiful face that I'm looking at and could pull the trigger of a gun and end her life. What drives a person to kill a woman and her infant? I'll be asking myself that question for a long, long time.

My family's thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of this woman, Rachel Entwistle, and her daughter Lillian. I hope your killer is found quickly and that justice is swift and fair. And I hope your spirits rest easy, where ever they are.

1 comment:

Christina said...

How sad. I can only imagine two possibilites. Either the husband killed them, or someone who wanted to hurt the husband did it.

Most likely it was the husband. It said he was out of work. I've read studies that men sometimes kill their families when faced with being unable to support them. They'd rather they be dead than have to struggle to survive.

And it's rare that a baby that young is killed unless it was by a relative.

Still, what a sad, sad story. These types of stories always make me hug my daughter a little tighter.