Texas surgeon battling depression and addiction PLAYS GOD! Kills his children, 5 and 9, ‘so they wouldn’t suffer like he had’ – then turns the gun on himself
Surgeon battling depression and addiction killed his children, 5 and 9, ‘so they wouldn’t suffer like he had’ – then turned the gun on himself before his wife found all three bodies
36-year-old Chris suffering from depression when he decided to take his life, according to his memorial
Early Saturday Aubrey, five, and Luke, nine, were killed by their dad Dr Christopher Dawson at their home in North Richland Hills, near Dallas, Texas
Their mother Rachel Dawson found all three bodies early Saturday morning
His obituary hints that Christopher Dawson executed his kids because he feared they would grow up with similar mental health issues
The Couple were also having marital problems leading up to the tragedy, with former neighbors describing the husband as ‘abusive’ and ‘controlling’
Dr, Chris Dawson’s obituary reads: ‘After years of suffering with anxiety, depression set hold and Chris was unable to escape its clutch’
A Phoenix, Arizona based surgeon in the past few months switched residence to Fort worth-Dallas suburb, apparently the move still failed to exorcise the mental health demons chasing him. In the early hours of Saturday Dr Christopher ‘Chris’ Dawson shot dead his two children and then himself because he was suffering from depression and was afraid they would grow up bearing the same mental health burdens, according to his obituary.
Chris Dawson turned the gun on himself early Saturday morning after killing his daughter Aubrey, five, and son Luke, nine, at their home in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
Related:
Dallas dad fatally shoots son and daughter, nine and five, then himself in horrific murder-suicide
Their mother, Rachel Dawson, was unharmed in the shooting and found their dead bodies around 6.30am and immediately called the police.
Dawson turned the gun on himself after killing five-year-old Bree [left],and her nine-year-old brother Luke, at their home in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Dallas, Texas on saturday
Dawson’s obituary says that the 36-year-old was suffering from depression and addiction when he decided to take his life.
‘After years of suffering with anxiety, depression set hold and Chris was unable to escape its clutch,’ the obituary reads.
He is also described as a loving father who spent a lot of time with his children, and their brutal slaying, according to the obituary, was out of mercy.
‘He helped Luke through a lot of his anxiety, but was overwhelmed with the thought of Luke growing up to be like him’ it says.
Dawson, the obituary says, received his medical degree and did his surgical residency in Phoenix, before being taken over by his anxiety.
He and Rachel are also said to have had marital problems, but didn’t let that impact their relationship with their children.
‘Chris and Rachel started having extreme marital problems, but the children were always loved above all,’ the obituary reads.
When the anxiety and depression got to be too much, Dawson started to self medicate because he was afraid of the ‘repercussions of his career if he were to get professional help.’
Chris Dawson was employed for a short period at the Baylor University hospital, from September 4 to October 20, 2017. It’s not clear why he left the job, and in what circumstances. The obituary statement does not indicate what he was using, only that he would self-medicate, but the substance became an addiction, and when it all got to be too much, he took own his life.
‘On Saturday morning, while not in his right mind, he did the unimaginable,’ the obituary states.
Rachel Dawson [photo with her children Bree and Luke], was unharmed in the the shooting and found their bodies around 6.30am Saturday, and immediately called the police.
Siblings Luke and Bree Dawson, aged 9 and 5, were shot dead by their dad at their home in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday morning
Victims: Happy, carefree Luke, 9 and his five-year-old sister Bree, before they were shot by their dad on Saturday. A medical report shows that Dawson shot Aubrey in the head and Luke in the head and torso.
Neighbors told the Star-Telegram they heard a loud bang at about 6.30 am. and the first set of responding officers arrived just after 7 am.
‘Me and my girlfriend were getting ready to leave for work and we had one of the windows open,’ Tanner Franklin said.
‘We heard some weird like yelp-type thing. She was like, “Did you hear that?” I thought it was an animal or something.’
Other neighbors said they heard screams early in the morning before seeing the mother leave with police officers.
Dawson’s memorial page says that the 36-year-old was suffering from depression when he decided to kill his two young children before taking his life at the new Dallas residence [photo], on Saturday
Neighbors thought the recent transplants from Arizona seemed normal, but a previous neighbor, from when the family lived in Phoenix, said there were ‘warning signs’ and claimed the father was abusive.
The family had reportedly only recently moved to the area, and neighbors thought they seemed normal.
But a previous neighbor, from when the family lived in Phoenix, said there were ‘warning signs’ and claimed the father was abusive.
‘He was very, very controlling of Rachel to the extent that after a certain point he no longer allowed her to be friends with us,’ Arial Borg told 12News.
‘We saw warning signs but I don’t think anyone could have guessed that this would’ve happened. It shocked everyone.’
Memorial services are being held for Chris, Bree and Luke Dawson today – the children had a joint service at 10am and the husband’s at 2pm.
A GoFundMe was set up for Rachel Dawson to pay for all memorial services.
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