Mom finds son dead; dad kills himself (Marietta, Georgia)

Mom had left the three kids in the care of their father EVERETT JACKSON while she went out of town. It's not clear here whether they were married, lived together, or what. Nevertheless, when she returned she found that her 15-month-old son was dead (the cause of death is not specified), and the father dead from a self-inflicted shotgun blast. Authorities won't say whether this was an accidental death followed by a suicide, or a murder-suicide. I'm not really a betting woman but my money's on the latter.

Of course, we have the obligatory clueless neighbor quotes: such a "loving father who would do anything for them." Yes, of course. Even leave them unattended, with two dead bodies in the home.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/22584274/detail.html

Marietta Mom Finds Son Dead; Dad Kills Himself
Marietta Detectives Waiting On Toddler's Autopsy
By Steve Kuzj, CBS Atlanta Reporter

POSTED: 6:25 pm EST February 16, 2010
UPDATED: 11:15 am EST February 17, 2010

MARIETTA, Ga. -- A Marietta mother came home to the horrible sight of her 15-month-old son and the dead.

Soon after the mother called an ambulance to her Whispering Oaks Apartment, the child’s father committed suicide in a bathroom with a shotgun, police said.

Police said the mother was out of town for a few days and left her three children in the care of their father, 25-year-old Everett Jackson.

Detectives are not sure how the toddler died or exactly when. They are waiting on autopsy results.

The mother had two other young children who were staying at home with their father. They were not hurt. Police said they were at a neighbor’s home when Jackson committed suicide.

Police said Jackson’s suicide raises questions about his involvement in his son's death.

Neighbors said the deaths have turned the Whispering Oaks community upside down.

Jackson’s friend, Cecily Howell, said he was a loving father who would do anything for his children. Howell and other neighbors said they can't imagine Jackson would hurt his child or himself.

"Not him, of anybody not him,” said Howell. “Everybody here knows him. It's not like he was a loner, everyone knows him. He's always outside playing with his kids and walking with his little boy and we just don't understand."

Neighbors and friends told CBS Atlanta News the death of Jackson's son had to have been an accident.

"If something could've happened to the baby maybe, because I really in my heart don't honestly believe [Jackson] would have hurt that baby."