Murder Prozac 09/09/1992 Utah Father Kills Wife & Daughter with Hatchet Summary:

Ann Tracy, Ph.D., Executive Director of the International Coaltion for Drug Awareness, confirmed that this man was taking Prozac at the time of the murders.

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Document no. 12 of 14
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Wednesday, September 9, 1992
Deseret News
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Edition: Metro
Page: B4
LAYTON MAN BEING HELD IN SLAYINGS OF FAMILY


By Don Rosebrock, Staff Writer

    A 70-year-old Layton man is in custody in the deaths of his wife and daughter, apparently killed in their beds sometime early Tuesday. Police said they are holding Ronald Cunningham while they investigate the deaths of his wife Dorothy, 69, and their daughter Janet, 43.
    Sgt. Rex Brimhall of the Layton Police Department said Ron Cunningham was booked into the Davis County Jail about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday for investigation of capital homicide.The two victims were found shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday when police responded to a call from what they describe as a distraught man at the Cunningham home at 271 Glen Place.
    On arrival, police found Ron Cunningham in the front yard and the bodies of two women inside. The women were apparently killed with a shingling hatchet and had been dead five or six hours, according to one investigator.
    Police said Ron Cunningham declined to make a statement or give permission for officers to enter the home. That required obtaining a search warrant, which kept investigators waiting on the front lawn of the home for over five hours while the county attorney's office prepared a search warrant and located a judge to sign it.
    Brimhall said Wednesday that Ron Cunningham is still refusing to give police a statement or be interviewed.
    The bodies of the victims were removed from the house about 10:30 p.m., Brimhall said, and an autopsy to determine the time and cause of death was expected to be conducted Wednesday morning at the state medical examiner's office.
    Neighbors describe the Cunninghams, who lived on the quiet Layton subdivision street for over 30 years, as good neighbors and friendly but who somewhat kept to themselves.
    Ron Cunningham is a retired Air Force sergeant who later worked a few years at the IRS Center in Ogden, according to neighbors.
    Dorothy Cunningham was in poor health, neighbors said, suffering from a degenerative bone disease. Ron Cunningham also complained more frequently of late of a bad back and general poor health, neighbors reported.
    And their daughter, Janet, who was visiting from Albuquerque, N.M., had been confined to a wheelchair for over two decades after being struck by a drunken driver in an accident, according to neighbors.
    ``They were fine people, the best,'' said Cindy Martin, who lives across the street from the Cunninghams. ``They were like grandparents to my son.
    ``They'd been through some tough times, but I thought things were going better for them, that Dorothy was feeling better,'' Martin said. The couple frequently walked through the neighborhood in the evening, greeting their friends, Martin said.
    There was a family gathering at the Cunningham home Sunday evening, and Martin said she believes it was to jointly celebrate the birthday of Janet and the recent marriage of her daughter, Tiffany.
    Aaron Moon, 13, lives a few houses away from the Cunninghams and did odd jobs around their house, shoveling the walk in winter and mowing the lawn in summer.
    He mowed their lawn Sunday, shortly before the family gathering and said Ron Cunningham appeared somewhat depressed, complaining about a bad back and general poor health.
    And his wife, Moon said, was nagging at him about not being able to get around and do the things he used to, especially around the house.
    ``I got to know them pretty well this year, with the things I did around the house for them,'' said Moon. ``They were generally happy people, good to work for.
    ``Dorothy talked a lot, and the last couple of weeks she was really getting on Ron, nagging at him for sitting around a lot,'' Moon said. ``Ron said on Sunday he wasn't feeling very well and this wasn't a good time to not feel well, with his daughter visiting and all.''

Words: 624
Section: News
Column:
Illustration: DON ROSEBROCK, DESERET NEWS
Officer turns over family's dog, Peppy, to animal control officer. Police had to obtain a search warrant.