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Apparent Murder Suicide in Lacey Twp.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - September 21, 2006 -- An Ocean County man put his 9-year-old son on the school bus Thursday morning, called the child's grandmother to come to the house and then shot his wife to death before turning the gun on himself.

Police said an argument between David Walters, 42, and his wife, Rosemarie, 37, ended with both lying dead in the garage of their beige ranch house, and their 6-year-old daughter sitting in a nearby living room.

Authorities had no immediate motive for the killings, and neighbors said there had been no signs of trouble with the couple.

"There was nothing apparent that anybody could ever see," said Debby Syers, a friend of the couple. "They were just a normal family. It is just a sad, sad thing. I can't believe it happened."

Police found the bodies after responding to an emergency call from David Walters' mother.

Authorities and several neighbors who spoke with police said David Walters had called his mother to come to the home, apparently to care for the daughter after the shootings.

David Walters worked as a chef in the food service department at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Rose Walters was a waitress, also in Toms River.

"I just waved to her yesterday," said another family friend, Laura Ganzy. She described Rosemarie Walters as a friendly, selfless woman who often picked Ganzy's kids up from the bus stop when she couldn't get home in time.

The Walters had a 9-year-old son, Zach, who was put on his school bus at about 8:20 a.m.

Police were called to the house 30 minutes later by the grandmother. Several neighbors said the woman emerged from the house looking distraught and softly stroking the head of the girl, Lauren, on the home's front lawn.

"I drove past and saw the grandmother on the front lawn; she looked very upset," said neighbor Scott Fraley. "A couple of minutes later, I saw the little girl come out. It's just heartbreaking."

One neighbor who asked not to be identified said she heard the girl tell her grandmother, "My mommy and daddy are dead."

Lauren, who attended afternoon kindergarten at Lanoka Harbor Elementary School and was still at home when the killings took place, was being questioned by detectives at police headquarters. Police went to the school to remove Zach and bring him to headquarters as well.

Crisis teams and trauma counselors were made available to the children, as well as their schoolmates.

"It's a tragic thing that children this age no longer have parents," said Police Chief William Nally. "There's no explanation for it."

The chief said David Walters did not leave behind a suicide note.

Neither the chief nor Robert Gasser, a spokesman for the Ocean County prosecutor's office, could offer a motive for the killings.

Nally said there had been no history of disturbances or anything requiring police intervention at the home a few miles from the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station.

Several neighbors recalled seeing the Walters family and their little Pekinese dog named "Kisses" at a block party the street held in early August.

"The kids were all in the dunking machine, and they were singing and everyone was dancing and having a good time, eating desserts and things like that," Ganzy said.

Kim Hartley, another family friend, coached Zach's soccer team.

"They were very nice people," she said. "This is a tragedy. It's the children we're all upset about."

The killings reverberated throughout Lacey, with people from elsewhere in the township driving to the neighborhood to express their own sorrow.

"It's frightening to think that life can be that bad," said resident Tracy Folk. "You never know what makes people snap."

Jean Flaherty, a spokeswoman for Community Medical Center, confirmed that David Walters had worked there, but would not say for how long. She would not release any additional information on him, citing the police investigation. Former co-workers in the dietary department would not discuss Walters, referring inquiries to the hospital's media relations department.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, and to his friends and co-workers at the hospital," Flaherty said.

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