Son Fatally Shot Mom & Brother Before Taking His Own Life in 2nd Such Incident in Family | “Family Now Rests in Peace”

Eric Jr. missed his 6-year-old sister shot dead by his dad who died by suicide in August.

Cover Image Source: GoFundMe

By Suchitra B

February 10, 2023

Posted February 10, 2023

Trigger Warning: The following content mentions gun violence, suicide, and murder, which may be distressing to readers.

Less than six months after her estranged husband killed their daughter in a murder-suicide, a Cincinnati woman and her two sons died as a consequence of a murder-suicide on February 3, PEOPLE reports. According to a post on the police department's official Facebook page, when officers arrived at a house after receiving a 911 call on Friday, they found "three unresponsive victims, each suffering from a gunshot wound."

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office further reported that the victims were identified as Darlene Flores, 38, her son Rodrigo Johnson, 16, and her oldest son Eric Johnson Jr., 19. Reports suggest that Eric Jr. died by suicide, and his mother Darlene, and brother Rodrigo's deaths were the results of homicides.

Breaking: Cincinnati police confirm the suspect in Friday's double-murder suicide, Eric Johnson Jr., is suspected in a 2020 murder.

18 y/o Serreno Foster (left) was shot and killed on Canyon Drive in December 2020. CPD says Johnson (right) is responsible. He was 17 at the time. pic.twitter.com/DZnUiTqvks
— Jatara McGee WLWT (@jatara_) February 6, 2023

A relative set up a GoFundMe page to seek funds for their funerals and also confirmed the details of how the family passed. "Our oldest grandson sadly took the lives of his mother and brother and then took his own life," the fundraiser shared, adding, "This Johnson/Flores family now rests in peace and will be deeply missed by all."

In August, Eric Jr.'s father died by suicide after murdering his young 6-year-old daughter Iyla. The murder-suicide was a result of a long-standing dispute between Eric Jonson and Darlene over the custody of their daughter, as per an earlier PEOPLE report.

Family friend Robert Davis was taken aback by the news and couldn't believe the wonderful family he knew wouldn't be there to welcome neighborhood kids, he told TV station WLWT, saying, "Most of us in the neighborhood have single mothers," Davis said, adding, "So, they raised us. Miss Darlene, she was very sweet, like another mother. Took us in. Anything that we needed or asked for, they always gave it to us. And they taught us life lessons and stuff."

A friend shared a photo of Eric Johnson Jr. with us. He said Eric sent a group text this morning to friends, "saying that he loved us and that he's sorry, he misses his sister." @WCPO pic.twitter.com/rhVgDa8sxE
— Madeline Ottilie (@OttilieMadeline) February 3, 2023

"Deep down. I mean, losing your little sister, you know what I'm sayin'? Especially a 6-year-old sister and that was like the closest, he loved her more than anything, like," another friend, 18-year-old Timyone Andrew shared, adding, "Losin' her, it destroyed my boy deep down."

"Check on those people," Andrew said. "Cause when you know somebody's hurtin', you know, after a while people start to forget but that pain is still with those people."