CALYX and POWERS SCHENECKER - 16 and 13 yo - Tampa FL

Police: Army officer's wife kills her 2 'mouthy' teens
Police say woman admits slayings; husband on duty in Qatar notified

By MITCH STACY, TAMARA LUSH
The Associated Press
updated 1/28/2011 8:48:58 PM ET 2011-01-29T01:48:58
Share Print Font: +-TAMPA, Florida — The wife of a military officer shot and killed her son on the way to soccer practice,
then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while she studied at her computer, police said Friday.
Afterward, the woman told detectives she killed the teens for being "mouthy."

clipped:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41319561/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

This is such a tragic story. How many people saw the signs of this Mothers depression? I am so sad for this family and all the classmates of these 2 children. It will affect many of them deeply.

TAMPA, Fla. – The woman who authorities say killed her teenage daughter and son because she was fed up with them talking back and being mouthy will not appear in court Saturday because she's being treated at a hospital for an unknown condition

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/28/police-tampa-mom-shot-killed-teen-kids/#ixzz1CT1684Uu
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/28/police-tampa-mom-shot-killed-teen-kids/

Mother who murdered teenage Children taken to hospital

January 30, 2011

The two Tampa teens who police say were murdered by their mother Thursday night are being honored by a new Facebook fan page that has drawn thousands of supporters sharing memories, images and even videos since the news of their deaths broke Friday afternoon. Tampa police said Julia Schenecker, 50, admitted to killing her 16-year old daughter Calyx and 13-year old son Beau on Thursday night.

Police found the bodies of the two children at their home on Friday. Both had been shot.

Police had gone to the home after getting a call from Schenecker’s mother in Texas saying she was concerned about her daughter and grandchildren.

“The suspect (Julia Schenecker) confessed to killing her two children. She described the crimes in detail,” Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said in a statement.

Video posted Youtube video of Beau showed his playful personality as he made faces to the camera while in class. A photo of Calyx shared a memory of her hanging out with friends as they all took in a movie. The page is flooded with messages of “I love you”, “You will be missed” and “Rest in peace” as fans continue to grow in number with people expressing their condolences.

Together, fans are using the page as a way to cope with the shock of the sudden, unimaginable loss while remembering the lives many said were gone too soon.

Schenecker was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder.

Her husband Parker Schenecker, 48, is a colonel in the U.S. Army stationed at Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. He was out of the country on duty when he was told of the killings.

Neighbors held a candlelight vigil outside the home on Friday night.

Investigators said Schenecker’s children were likely unaware that their mother, the wife of a military intelligence officer, had any plans to end their lives.

Schenecker was scheduled to make her first appearance in court Saturday morning, but it was delayed so she could receive treatment for a previous medical condition.

A Tampa, Fla., mother accused of murdering her two teenage children because they were "mouthy"
was hospitalized yesterday, delaying her first scheduled court appearance.
Julie Schenecker, 50, a military officer's wife, was arrested Friday when police,
responding to call from a concerned relative, found her covered in blood
on the back porch of her home.



The woman allegedly confessed to the officers there that she had shot
her 13-year-old son and then her 16-year-old daughter because they were "mouthy."
According to police, Schenecker shot her son twice in the head while
they were on the way to soccer practice, then drove to the family home
in in a gated country club community in north Tampa, where she shot her
daughter in the back of the head while the teen was studying at her computer.
"I think we will never understand how or why a mother could take the
lives of her children," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. "That was
the only reason she provided to our detectives.
"We dont believe that the children knew that the mother meant to harm them."



Schenecker's daughter, Calyx, 16, was found in an upstairs bedroom, and
Beau, 13, was found in an SUV in the garage, McElroy said.
Both had been shot with a .38-caliber pistol that police believe had
been bought five days earlier, according to the Tampa Tribune.
Investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming," McElroy said.
Schenecker, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder,
was taken to Tampa General Hospital just before midnight, ABC affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa reported.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials said she is being treated in the
ICU for a previous medical condition, according to WFTS-TV.
Police said they went to Schenecker's home Friday morning after
receiving a call from the woman's mother, who called from Texas saying
she had been unable to reach her daughter. She told police Schenecker
had been depressed and complained about her children, WFTS-TV reported.
After the woman allegedly told them what she had done, McElroy said,
officers found a note she had written saying she planned to kill her
children and then herself.
The motive she allegedly gave, both in the note and in her interviews
with police, was the children "talked back and were mouthy," McElroy said.
"During a post-Miranda interview with detectives, the suspect confessed
to killing her two children," police said in a statement. "She described the crimes in detail."
According to WFTS-TV, Schenecker's husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker,
is stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
CentCom spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Lawhorn told the station that Parker
Schenecker, a career Army intelligence officer, had been away for
several days. Police said they had contacted the husband in Qatar
Friday and told him his children had been killed.
"Obviously teens are going to say things to their parents, they aren't
going to get along sometimes but that? I never saw her once speak wrong
to her to either one of her parents," Said Calyx's track coach. "One of
the parents was always at a meet you know whether it was a dad or mom,
someone was always there"
"They seemed like a nice family," said Charanun Soodjinda, 38, who lives
across the cul de sac from the Scheneckers. "I never thought this would
happen. How could you do that to your children?"
Schenecker had no criminal record in Florida before the shooting; last
November she was cited for careless driving after a car crash in Tampa,
according to The Associated Press.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/julie-schenecker-treated-hospital-charged-killing-kids/story?id=12796791

The woman accused of killing her two teenage children was released
from the hospital today and returned to jail after missing a second
court date before a judge.

Julie Schenecker, who was arrested Friday on two counts of
first-degree murder, is scheduled to make her first appearance in the
morning.

Her initial court hearing, scheduled for Saturday, was postponed
after she was admitted into Tampa General Hospital's intensive care unit
just before midnight Friday. She was suffering from a medical condition
before she was arrested, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's
Office. Authorities have not said what was wrong with her.

Typically at a first appearance, a judge will set bail for a
defendant and, if that person cannot afford a lawyer, appoint a public
defender or private attorney to handle the case. Schenecker, 50, of New
Tampa, is being held without bail, according to Hillsborough County Jail
records.

Schenecker is accused of shooting her 13-year-old son Beau on
Thursday evening and later shooting her daughter, Calyx, while the
16-year-old was doing her homework.

Both children were shot twice in the head -- Beau while Schenecker
drove him home from soccer practice and Calyx in her bedroom, according
to the Tampa Police Department. She used a .38-caliber revolver she had
bought five days earlier, police said.

Schenecker told investigators she did it because the children talked
back and were "mouthy", police said. She had planned to kill herself
after killing the children and left a detailed note outlining her plans,
police said.

Police went to the family's 3,300-square-foot home in Ashington
Reserve early Friday after Schenecker's mother called police. They found
Schenecker on the back porch wearing a bloody robe and slippers.

Her husband Parker Schenecker, a colonel in the U.S. Army, was in
Qatar in the Middle East when his children were killed. MacDill Air
Force Base officials told him about the tragedy.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/jan/30/301250/mom-charged-with-killing-kids-misses-court-appeara/news-breaking/

This happened very close to home. I also wondered why no one saw that this woman was on the verge of snapping. Her daughter was a good student in the IB Program at King High and very well liked by everyone...I can say that the neighborhood is in shock. This poor dad, he just lost his hole family in a blink of an eye. May God Help him and guide him...

You're all used to hearing about people being shot but it shocks me. As long as sick people can just walk into a local shop and buy a gun these tragedies will keep on happening. If she couldn't just buy a gun they would still be alive. If you must have an armed population, why not have a law stating that you have to be seen by a doctor or psychiatrist first to verify you're ok to have one? It would make sense to me.

kiwimom wrote:You're all used to hearing about people being shot but it shocks me. As long as sick people can just walk into a local shop and buy a gun these tragedies will keep on happening. If she couldn't just buy a gun they would still be alive. If you must have an armed population, why not have a law stating that you have to be seen by a doctor or psychiatrist first to verify you're ok to have one? It would make sense to me.

Totally agree.....especially here in florida....it's very easy to buy a gun...anyone can buy one....

The Florida
mother accused of murdering her two teen-aged children because they
talked back to her, planned the killings in advance, Tampa police said
on Tuesday

Julie Schenecker, 50, was
arrested last Friday after police found the bodies of her 16-year old
daughter Calyx and 13-year old son Beau at their home in Tampa. Police
said both had been shot in head the day before and that Schenecker
confessed to killing them because they talked back to her.Public
Information Officer Laura McElroy, appearing on the MSNBC cable news
network, said Schenecker left a note written several days before the
shootings. "She was planning to take the lives of her children and then
her own life," McElroy said.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/us-tampa-murders-idUSTRE71079Y20110201?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true

kiwimom wrote:You're all used to hearing about people being shot but it shocks me. As long as sick people can just walk into a local shop and buy a gun these tragedies will keep on happening. If she couldn't just buy a gun they would still be alive. If you must have an armed population, why not have a law stating that you have to be seen by a doctor or psychiatrist first to verify you're ok to have one? It would make sense to me.

I think the problem with that happening is that the ones who plan a crime (such as murdering their children) will get access to a gun anyway, even by unlawful means. Also her husband, had he been home, most definitely would have had a gun in the house as a military officer. Sadly, I think she is crazy enough that she would have just found another way to murder them if she hadn't been able to find a gun.

As reported by Channel 10 News, WTSP.com in Tampa, the ultra-controversial religious group, The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas,
an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against
homosexuality and whose protest activities include picketing funerals
and desecrating the American flag, has announced plans to picket the
memorial service tonight of two Tampa teens murdered by their mother
last week.
The church, which is not a true Baptist religious denomination
but a group comprised largely of family members recruited by founder
Fred Phelps, a pastor and disbarred lawyer, plans to protest the memorial service because the murdered teens' father is in the military and was stationed overseas at the time.
"God sent the shooter to Tampa, Florida," a spokesman for the Westboro Church stated.
"Murderous mother kills rebellious children while father is off playing
bloody war games, fighting for same-sex marriage. GOD SMACK!"
The Florida West Coast Riders, a group that opposes the church, says they will attend the memorial service and attempt to shield family and friends who attend from the signs and chants of the protesters using the American flag
"It doesn't matter to them at all. They get out there with their
bull horns and their nasty signs and they get attention . . . That's
what they want," says Thomas Brown of the Florida West Coast Riders. "They're all about being offensive and we have to do what we do in a respectful way."
The two teens, Calyx and Beau, were tragically shot and killed by
their 50-year old mother Julie Schenecker, who confessed to the crime,
in a horrific homicide that has stunned residents of the gated Ashington
Reserve subdivision in New Tampa.
"She did tell us that they talked back, that they were mouthy," said
Laura McElroy of the Tampa Police Department. "But I don't think that
will ever serve as an explanation to the rest of us of how you could
take a child's life."
The teens' father, Parker Schenecker, is a US Army Intelligence colonel who was stationed in Qatar at the time of the incident.
The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas often pickets the funeral service of American
servicemen and women killed in action, preaching their message of hate
against homosexuals, which they believe means God has condemned America.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Westboro
Baptist Church plans protest at memorial for murdered teens - Tampa Bay
Religious & Spiritual Diversity | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/religious-spiritual-diversity-in-tampa-bay/westboro-baptist-church-plans-protest-at-memorial-for-murdered-teens#ixzz1Cq7rMdq7

Schenecker father to grieving teens: 'Don't forget how they lived'



TEMPLE TERRACE
Friends of two slain Tampa teenagers packed a church Wednesday with their parents and teachers and paid tribute to Calyx and Beau Schenecker in every way they could.
They played instruments and sang Amazing Grace, wore ribbons and shared stories.
They uttered words of comfort for the children's father seated in the front row, Army Col. Parker Schenecker.
And in return, the man left alone by the tragedy faced the crowd and shared his gratitude.
"I can't thank you enough," he said, "for today's moving, loving memorial for my exceptional children and for your tributes through the past few days.
"Whether you wore some blue or Harry Potter glasses, lit a candle, laid a flower or signed a soccer jersey, you honored my children. ...
"The family and I are humbled by your support, grace and overwhelming love for Calyx and Beau. They love you, too. Please don't forget how they lived."

read more>
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/schenecker-father-to-grieving-teens-they-love-you-too/1149233

Schenecker family says unauthorized online sites are exploiting tragedy



TAMPA — Fraudulent memorial funds flourished after the earthquake in Haiti and devastation of Hurricane Katrina. And now, in the wake of the shooting deaths of Beau and Calyx Schenecker, people are once again looking to profit.
Early Wednesday, the children's father made a public warning: The family has not yet established a website or fund capable of receiving money.
"Any such website which bears the Schenecker name is unauthorized, misleading, and merely an attempt to exploit this tragedy and deepen the sorrow of a community trying to heal," a statement from Army Col. Parker Schenecker said.
Police say Julie Schenecker, 50, shot her teenage children to death in Tampa Palms North last week. The tragedy has garnered national attention.
A search for Schenecker memorial funds online doesn't reveal much, but one site, which has since been taken down, stated that the New York-based 66th Military Intelligence Brigade was collecting money for 13-year-old Beau's soccer team and 16-year-old Calyx's cross country team. It linked to PayPal.
Officers listed on that website could not be reached.
Calyx's coach, Gary Bingham, said he has not been contacted by any group seeking to send money in honor of Calyx.
"I can safely tell you that, as of right now, nothing has been set up," he said.

read more>
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/schenecker-family-says-unauthorized-online-sites-are-exploiting-tragedy/1149110