Dad murders mom with two sons nearby; praised as "good" and "loving" (Great Falls, Montana)

This kind of ignorant Pollyanna garbage started stinking long ago. These delusions were dissected, discussed, and discredited ages ago, too. And yet you still hear clueless neighbors and co-workers insist that a dad who murdered his wife with two of his sons "nearby" was somehow, in spite of it all, a REALLY "good" person and "loving" parent.

No, no, no. A dad like DON MAHONEY who strips his children of their mother in such a vicious, self-centered way is NOT a good person, and a loving parent does not traumatize his children by engaging in daddy murder drama in front of them.

The fact that people set the bar so low for what consitutes a "good" person and "loving" parent does not show very high expectations for good fathers, does it? In fact, I think it's an insult to the truly non-dastardly fathers who are out there. The guys who work hard and treat their wives and children well.

And the fact that the family "seemed" happy only tells you how good a lot of desperate women are at keeping up appearances, and how happy a lot of people are to accept pretty appearances at face value.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/12/air-force-mahoney-suicide-leaves-many-reeling-120410w/

Murder-suicide of O-5, wife leave many reeling

By Scott Fontaine - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Dec 4, 2010 11:23:48 EST

To many, Lt. Col. Don Mahoney and his wife, Shelly, seemed happy.

They both had good jobs — Don Mahoney leading the 120th Maintenance Squadron of the Montana Air National Guard, Shelly Mahoney teaching fourth grade at Mountain View Elementary School in Great Falls, Mont., the city of about 60,000 where they lived.

The couple had a lovely family, three young boys. They went to St. Anne’s Cathedral and their sons went to Our Lady of Lourdes School. The family showed up at football games and civic events.

No one could have suspected that Don Mahoney would kill Shelly Mahoney, then shoot himself with two of their sons nearby, their friends and co-workers say.

The deaths, ruled a murder-suicide by Great Falls police, occurred Nov. 11 in the bedroom of the Mahoneys’ home. Police would not speculate on a motive and refused to disclose which of the children — Dugan, 12, Declan, 10, and Donovan, 7 — were in the house at the time of the shootings. The boys are staying with relatives.

“It’s tragic. It’s a senseless act,” said Great Falls police Sgt. Jeff Newton, who knew Don Mahoney from his three years of service in the police department.

Police went to the Mahoney home after a family member reported a domestic disturbance, Newton said. Officers found both bodies in the couple’s bedroom but no signs of any physical assault before the shootings.

Don Mahoney, 44, received a commission from the Army after graduating from the University of Montana in 1991, according to his obituary in the Great Falls Tribune. He served with the 75th Ranger Regiment until 1996, when he left the service to become a police officer. He joined the Montana Air National Guard in 1998 and commanded its security forces squadron from 2004 to 2006. He took command of the maintenance squadron in 2007.

Shelly Mahoney, 40, met her husband at college. She graduated from Montana State University-Northern in 2003. She became a substitute teacher in 2003 and began teaching at Mountain View the following year.

News of the deaths stunned the community.

Mountain View had grief counselors speak with students and faculty members. The 120th Fighter Wing, the host unit for Don Mahoney’s squadron, brought in chaplains and grief counselors.

Commander Col. Pete Hronek also ordered the wing’s F-15s to stand down for a day and conducted a commander’s call Nov. 15.

“You just know what good people they are,” wing spokesman Maj. Rick Anderson said. “And what loving parents they are — that’s why it’s such a huge leap that something happened here.”