The man from St. Louis reportedly killed himself when the police were closing in on him. His mother helped mislead the police.
Trigger warning: The story contains details of physical abuse that might be distressing to some readers.
A man from Missouri, who was suspected of killing his estranged wife and her two kids, was later found dead with a gunshot wound. The mother had shared a series of troubling Facebook posts before her death.
Rosean McCulley, 34, her 13-year-old son Kayden Johnson and 6-year-old daughter Kaylee Brooks were fatally shot by her estranged husband, Bobby McCulley III, according to the Associated Press report. Their bodies were found when officers responded to a report of a shooting on March 4 evening. The police also learned that the couple had a 1-year-old daughter, who had gone missing from the scene. On March 5, Bobby reportedly killed himself when the police closed in on him. The little girl, however, was found safe.
The tragedy unfolded towards the end of February when Bobby filed for divorce. The two kids he killed were not his biological children, the police said. County police Lt. Col. Steve Sack said at a news conference that officers went to the home earlier Thursday after a neighbor reported a suspicious person between two homes. However, the officers who came to check up on the call left soon after as they didn't find anyone suspicious lurking around.
The authorities now believe that Bobby entered the home with a weapon and held the family hostage for many hours before killing them and leaving with his child. The cops later returned only after a neighbor reported gunshots. The police had been looking for the man, who ended up killing three people and himself when Rosean reported that he was abusive towards her.
Now, a woman, who was later identified as Bobby's mother, is also being charged for misleading the police while they were searching for Bobby. Michelle Clayton, 55, is charged with hindering prosecution, as per WJHL. A probable cause statement said Michelle "misled and lied to police to prevent the apprehension of Bobby McCulley."
The police had issued an Amber Alert for the baby but later called it off when the child was found safe with relatives before 5 am on March 5. The child was taken to a hospital as a precaution to ensure there was no harm inflicted upon her. Meanwhile, a manhunt for Bobby was ongoing. He had been charged on an at-large warrant with three counts of first-degree murder. When the authorities got too close to him, he reportedly shot himself.
Friends of Roseann called her Rosey and she was a "very sweet girl, very intelligent" person, as per KMOV. One of her friends, Stephanie, said that she had become concerned about the woman's safety over the two weeks before her death. Rosey had posted on social media saying that Bobby beat her so badly recently that she was hospitalized. In the post, she wrote that he "was able to stomp my chest and abdomen, so the bruising and swelling is really bad there."
She added that she had to receive morphine through an IV for the pain. A week later Bobby wrote on his wife's Facebook page, "Everyone enjoying the show! More to come."
Stephanie had urged Rosey to take the kids and go somewhere else on the night of March 4, but couldn't convince her. They devised a system of checking in with each other every two hours. "I called her so many times last night and I didn't get a response back," said Stephanie. She received a text around 10.30 pm but it didn't seem like something her friend would write. She asked if it was Bobby messaging but she got no response. She learned the next morning that her friend and her two children were killed.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
References:
https://apnews.com/article/st-louis-michael-brown-467b2ad4e5a488d1378a5dd44b07cfff
https://www.wjhl.com/news/man-charged-with-killing-mother-and-children-found-dead-in-st-louis/
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by CareyHope (representational image)
