Dad in "custody battle" kills two daughters in murder-suicide (Pima County, Arizona)

Yet another abusive, control-freak father who never should have been allowed access after the marital separation. Dad is identified as LEVI PARKER.

See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Arizona.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/arizona-dad-shot-killed-daughters-died-article-1.2476773

Arizona dad who fatally shot two young daughters two days before Christmas has died

BY Keri Blakinger / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS / Friday, December 25, 2015, 10:53 AM

The Arizona dad and National Guard member who killed his two young daughters in cold blood has died, officials said.

Levi Parker, 37, murdered the children, MacKenzie Lee Parker, 8, and Haylee Parker, 5, in the midst of a custody battle with his estranged wife, according to a report.

Deputies were called to the Parker home at Veranda at Ventana Condominiums around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, after the girls’ mother received a threatening phone call.

"He made statements to her that basically led her to believe this was her last chance to talk to the kids alive," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, according to KNXV-TV.

When they arrived on scene five minutes later, deputies “attempted to talk to a male inside the residence from outside the front door,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement. “Soon after, deputies heard one gun shot and they forced entry into the home. Inside, they found the father and two daughters, all with gun shot wounds.”

MacKenzie died at the scene, while Haylee died at a local hospital and Parker was on life support until he died Thursday at Banner University Medical Center, according to KOLD-TV.

Nanos said that Parker and his wife were having legal problems and that on the day of the shooting the girls were visiting their father. They’d been separated for three months and were involved in a divorce case.

The girls’ aunt, Joan Parker, told the Arizona Daily Star that Parker was trying to get custody and that he was unhappy his wife had a new boyfriend.

“He did not want another man with his girls,” she said. “I personally think he’s been through so much in the military, almost 15 years. He could have developed PTSD or some kind of mental condition.”

Just a month before the killing, Parker posted on Facebook MacKenzie’s Christmas list, which included everything from a horse to chocolate to a guitar.

"This is tough," Nanos said. "It's a couple hours before what's supposed to be the best day in the world for little kids... our community lost two little ones."

A neighbor told KOLD that the incident has been “the talk of the community” while another said, “It completely blindsided us. Like we were home and it sounded like someone pounding a nail on a board."

The girls’ family released a statement on Thursday.

“Please keep our family in your hearts and prayers in our unimaginable grief,” they said.