Dad kills two daughters in murder-suicide; yet another classic male "retaliation" crime for wife leaving him (Tolleson, Arizona)

Yet another control freak father with a history of domestic violence who slaughtered the kids--all because he was pissed off that Mom was leaving him.

Contrary to the "nice guy" delusions of the neighbor, there were all kinds of red flags here. Men with histories of domestic violence who have also made suicide threats are at VERY HIGH RISK for this kind of crime. How or why a man like this had access to the kids when the mother was not present is not explained. But once again, we see why fathers like ALEJANDRO GALLARDO should not be allowed any contact with the children following the break up with the mother.

Notice that this is the same area where DAVID SHERRILL just murdered his son with an axe during his custody/visitation time.

Stop giving abuser dads access, stop the slaughter of kids.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20140101phoenix-tolleson-killings-new-year.html

Slayings in Tolleson, Phoenix leave 4 dead in violent start to new year

By Jim Walsh
The Republic | azcentral.com
Wed Jan 1, 2014 9:18 PM

Two sisters were found dead in a Tolleson home on Wednesday after police said they were slain by their father in a murder-suicide. Meanwhile, police in Phoenix arrested a father on suspicion of first-degree murder. Authorities said they believe he killed his 13-year-old son with an ax on Tuesday.

The tragic deaths combined to send the Valley violently into the new year.

The scene in Tolleson was discovered by a teenager who visited the home of relatives on Wednesday morning and found a man and his 6- and 8-year-old daughters dead inside.

Two men who were working at a nearby church and food bank said they knew that something awful had happened, and that it was too late to help when they spotted the teenager on the front porch, wailing in agony.

“It was terrified screaming. She was screaming in Spanish, over and over again,” said Steve Haltom, who works at the Bridge Community Church and Tolleson Food Bank.

Dennis Sims, who also works at the food bank, said he wished there was something he could have done to help the teen. He said an older woman quickly arrived and appeared to take control.

“People were devastated by what happened,” Sims said.

Tolleson police were called at about 10 a.m. Wednesday and found the bodies.

Authorities obtained a search warrant after a delay of several hours because of difficulties in locating a judge on New Year’s Day, according to Sgt. Obed Gaytan, a Tolleson police spokesman.

He said detectives concluded that Alejandro Gallardo, 45, shot his daughters to death before turning a handgun on himself. Gallardo shot himself in the head, and the gun was found near his body, Gaytan said. The names of the girls were not released.

“That is the grand question: Why?” Gaytan said.

He said the timing was jarring, with police having the sad duty of notifying relatives who arrived at the scene.

“It is very somber,” Gaytan said. “This is a time when we should be rejoicing with our family. It’s sad this sort of incident happened.”

Neighbors said that there had been arguments between Gallardo and his girlfriend, the children’s mother, and that their relationship was breaking apart.

The neighbors grieved the children’s deaths.

“I just saw them out here playing (on Tuesday),” neighbor Cynthia Echeverria said. “To hear about what happened today was mind-blowing.”

Maria Garza, another neighbor, broke into tears when she heard the news and said through an interpreter that the slain children had played with her children on Tuesday night.

Neighbor Guadalupe Medina said Gallardo was a nice guy who invited neighbors to parties and worked at a nearby warehouse that packages carrots. She said Gallardo had told people that he planned to kill himself because the relationship with his girlfriend was broken but that no one took his statement seriously.

“He never said that he was going to do that to the little girls,” Medina said. “I think he loved them a lot, so he took them with him.”

The Tolleson slayings followed the death of David Sherrill, 13, in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon.

Police arrested his father, Gary Sherrill, 51, on suspicion of first-degree murder, said Sgt. Steve Martos, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The father told police he was afraid of his son.

“(He) stated he was scared of his son and believed his son was a demon and was going to eat him,” Martos said.

David’s mother asked police to check on her son on Tuesday because her ex-husband was late returning the teen and she hadn’t been able to reach either of them, Martos said.

At about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, police conducted a welfare check on Gary Sherrill’s residence, in the 6000 block of North 10th Place, Martos said.

Sherrill at first told officers that his son wasn’t home, but officers prodded him into inviting them inside.

“Once inside, they located the 13-year-old male victim, David Sherrill, deceased with obvious signs of trauma,” Martos said. “Sadly, the victim sustained stab wounds and lacerations to several parts of his body.”