Posted on 11/24/2005 5:40:17 AM PST by KarinG1
RICHMOND, Texas — Irene Torres Belding's family had planned to spend Thanksgiving at her home — but they found themselves instead planning for her funeral, after Belding, her husband and their two children were found fatally shot in a suspected murder-suicide.
"We were planning to get together over at her house and have Thanksgiving over there," said Gloria Torres, Torres Belding's sister. She said she was stunned by the deaths but believed the violence stemmed from money woes.
"I think they were having financial problems and there was lots of stress," Gloria Torres told the Houston Chronicle.
Investigators believe John Belding, 42, shot his family before turning the gun on himself, said Richmond Police Chief Bill Whitworth. Officers found the bodies Tuesday night in the Belding's Fort Bend County home after relatives asked police to check on the family.
Irene Belding, 42, and her children, Lindsey, 7, and Mason, 6, were found together in a bedroom.
John Belding was found in another part of the home, dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Police said a weapon was also found inside the home.
"We're very confident it's a murder-suicide," Whitworth said. "The house was secured from the inside. There was a brief note left by the husband that basically said, 'I'm sorry. I needed to do this,'" Whitworth said. "We won't close the case until we hear back from the medical examiner."
Torres said that, despite the family's money problems, she had never seen any indication of violence in the household. Whitworth also said the family had no history of disturbances or police calls.
"I can't say (anything) bad about him because he was a good, good father," Torres said. "He loved those kids and he loved Irene and I think it was just financial problems."
The Beldings' neighbors said they were also surprised by the incident.
"He was a happy-go-lucky guy, always whistling or outdoors doing something," neighbor Linda Dobie said of John Belding. "It is just terrible. It is almost unbelievable."
Neighbors told the Chronicle that John Belding was a home inspector.
"It is a major tragedy," Whitworth said, adding that the slayings were the first recorded homicides this year in Richmond, located about 34 miles southwest of Houston. "It is going to have repercussions in our community. Their friends and family are going to miss them."
The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office wasn't expected to finish the autopsies and its report until next week.
???
People "snap". They just do.
Hope they can RIP.
They had timed the event so that their bodies were discovered by their 13 year old son as he got off the bus from school. Wife was dressed lying on the bed like she was sleeping, with a shot to the side of the head. The husband was next to her, still in his work clothes, the gun on the floor.
The thing that got me the most was the suicide note which said to the effect "we had to do this because of the lack of money". The next part is what got me. It said, "there is an insurance policy on the desk, we think its still good". I thought, you are killing yourself, leaving children as orphans and you do it without even checking if the policy is still in effect". Sad.
It's bad, and I wasn't trying to make light of it any more than I do about pretty much everything else. People are just so stupid that, at times, it becomes difficult to give them a break. You mourn the dead but sometimes have to either laugh or cry about the cause of death. I'm still breathing (much to the chagrin of many), and today is the day I set aside each year to give thanks for that. I hope y'all can find something to be thankful for as well.
I'm broke, so you all must die? Brillian concept.
They do. I've seen it. All of us are but a mere few months away from destitution. Instead of snapping, we should be preparing.
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