An irate California mom murdered her family – including her three dogs – and set the house on fire before shooting herself dead. The family’s two cats died of smoke inhalation, leaving just a lone survivor in the family.
68-year-old Teresa Mae Wilson of Bella Vista, California, shot dead her husband, Gary Lynn Wilson, 69, son Ellis Leroy Wilson II, 44, and his wife Zoe Lynn Wilson, 20, on January 7.
Her other family members told police that there had been ‘long-term tension’ at the home which may have boiled over into violence, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Teresa Mae Wilson, [right] shot dead her husband, Gary Lynn Wilson, [left], one of three family members she murdered at family home in Bella Vista, California on January 7
Not done, Teresa also murdered her 44–year-old son Ellis Leroy Wilson II, [left], seen here with his wife and his wife Zoe Lynn Wilson, whom she shot dead as well by her mother-in-law
Shasta County sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Jackson said: ‘Due to the tension, it is believed Teresa may have reacted and committed the acts,’ he said in a news release.
Detectives say each of her victims were found with multiple gunshot wounds, and would have likely died before she set fire to their home.
Teresa, a Sears employees, also shot dead the family’s three dogs. The family’s two cats died from smoke inhalation, Jackson said.
Gary Lynn Wilson, was shot by his partner of almost 50 years, who then set their home on fire before killing her self
Her other family members told police that there had been ‘long-term tension’ between Teresa and her family which may have boiled over into violence
Fire crews were called out to the blaze at around 5pm on January 7pm, and once the flames were extinguished, investigators found that the fire had been deliberately started in one corner of the house, and an autopsy found evidence of smoke inhalation in Teresa’s body meaning she was alive when it started.
The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Sgt. Jackson said there’s “no evidence or information has been discovered that any other person(s) are responsible for the deaths and fire.”
Teresa Wilson killed daughter-in-law Zoe Wilson, who was married to her son LeRoy Wilson, also a casualty of her shooting rampage
Police found a .380-caliber semi-automatic gun, which belonged to Teresa, still in her lap when they discovered her body.
Authorities concluded evidence didn’t support anyone else being responsible for the deaths or fire.
Teresa’s surviving child, Ronnia Krug, has since paid tribute to her family, and even urged others to remember her mother as a ‘caring parent’ and her ‘best friend.’
After shooting her husband, son and daughter-in-law, Teresa started a blaze at their home. Detectives say each of her victims were found with multiple gunshot wounds, and would have likely died before she set fire to their home.
The family’s pets three dogs and two cats all perished in the shooting and subsequent fire
‘Missing my family,’ Krug wrote on Facebook. ‘Loving them and wanting them to be remembered as the kind, caring parents as everyone knew them as.’
‘She was my best friend for years. I would always talk to her about everything. She was a great listener. … I don’t know what I would have done without her.’
Krug added that her mother had helped her to raise her children.
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