'Friendly' local handyman in Maine murders family

29/07/2014 - 07:15:40Back to World Home

A handyman with financial problems has shot dead his wife and three children before committing suicide, in what police in Maine say is one of the worst cases of domestic violence in state history.

Joel Smith presented a friendly face at the 61-unit flats complex in Saco where he worked. But he was having domestic and financial problems, and his wife told a family friend that he had recently threatened to kill himself, police said.

The family had moved from Arizona about two years ago because of the sour economy, said Smiths mother, Jerys Caruthers-Thorpe, of Scottsdale, Arizona.

I know something had to have snapped because Joel never would have done that in his right mind, she said.

Heather Smith, 35, was shot along with the couples four-year-old daughter Lily in her parents bed. Joel Smiths body was found on the floor nearby, a shotgun by his side.

The boys, 12-year-old Jason Montez and Noah Montez, seven, were found dead in their separate bedrooms.

Investigators said Smiths wife told a family friend before the shooting that Smith, 33, threatened suicide by holding a gun to his head about a week earlier. The friend later contacted a flats complex worker to express concerns about the familys well-being, leading to the gruesome discovery on Sunday.

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'Friendly' local handyman in Maine murders family