Stanley Neace

Case Overview

Stanley Neace, aged 47, killed his wife and five others in Breathitt County, Kentucky, before shooting himself. Authorities said he snapped after becoming irate over how his wife cooked his eggs.

Timeline

• Saturday morning — Stanley Neace stormed across several lawns in his pajamas and fired dozens of shots from a 12-gauge, pump action shotgun, killing his wife and four others in two mobile homes, then went to his own home and shot himself.
• January 1993 — Stanley Neace was arrested and charged with two counts of sodomy involving a child.
• 1998 — Stanley Neace pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third degree sexual abuse.
• June 2002 — His rights were restored.
• Funeral Tuesday afternoon at 1 — Funeral services for Sandra Strong were scheduled at Watts Funeral Home.

Background

Neighbors in the Breathitt County mobile home community said Neace had an escalating hostile temper over the past few months. His landlord began eviction proceedings because Neace was unpredictable and “little things would set him off.”

Landlord Ray Rastegar said Neace received monthly disability checks from the Social Security Administration, though Rastegar did not know what the disability was. Robert Collins, a neighbor aged 50, said it was not the first time he had heard gunshots in the area and that Neace often walked down to a nearby river to take practice shots.

Family members said there may have been warning signs before the shootings. Dean Cockerham, who also lost relatives in the shootings, said: “I think he (Stanley Neace) was really jealous,” and added, “He would give her (Sandra Neace) dirty looks and say something smart to her.” Family members also wished they had paid more attention to a conversation Sandra Neace had with them years earlier, when they said she told them Stanley Neace threatened to kill her if she ever left him.

The offence

Authorities said Stanley Neace killed his wife and four others with a shotgun in a roadside mobile home park in the Mount Carmel community of Breathitt County. Investigators said he followed his wife, Sandra Neace, into a nearby trailer where he killed:

• Sandra Neace, aged 54
• Sandra Rachel Strong, aged 28
• Sandra Strong’s boyfriend, Dennis Turner
• Neighbors Teresa Fugate and Tammy Kilborn

Trooper Jody Sims of the Kentucky State Police said Neace killed the five people in two mobile homes, then went to his own home and shot himself.

Steve Smith, a neighbor, said that when he walked outside, Neace took a shot at him but missed. Smith also said: “He chased his wife around that Jeep, shooting at her,” and “I heard her screaming and running.”

Sherri Anne Robinson, a relative of two victims, said witnesses told her Neace became enraged when his wife did not cook his breakfast to his liking, and said: “She tried to run to tell my family and he shot them too because they found out about it.”

Robinson also described Fugate’s shooting in front of Fugate’s seven-year-old daughter. Robinson said:

• “Her daughter said, ‘Please, please don’t shoot me,’ and he said, ‘All right, you can leave,’ and she ran out” Robinson said Fugate went and told her neighbors, and “the neighbors called the law.”

Police said they were still trying to determine what exactly happened during the rampage.

Reports said Neace went on the shooting spree because he was upset over how his wife had cooked his eggs, but police had not confirmed that.

Investigation

Authorities and investigators were working to piece together what had happened. The state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort was expected to carry out autopsies on all six who died.

Kentucky State Police spokesman Tony Watts said they were still trying to determine what exactly happened during the rampage.

Arrest, prior record, and pleas

WKYT.com reported that Neace had a criminal record. A report based on information from the Breathitt County Circuit Clerk’s office said Neace was arrested in January 1993 and charged with two counts of sodomy involving a child.

Court officials said that in 1998 Neace pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third degree sexual abuse. He was placed on two years of probation, and his rights were restored in June 2002.

The county prosecutor Brendon Miller said his dealings with Neace had been on nonviolent issues involving child support and that Neace had been in Miller’s office a month before the shootings regarding a traffic ticket. Trooper Sims said he could not confirm that Neace had a criminal record.

Sentencing

Neace’s 1998 misdemeanor plea resulted in two years of probation.

Outcome

Stanley Neace died by suicide after killing six people total, including Neace himself, in Breathitt County, Kentucky.

The victims were identified as:

• Sandra Neace, aged 54 (Neace’s wife)
• Sandra R. Strong, aged 28 (Neace’s daughter-in-law/stepdaughter relationship described in reports)
• Dennis Turner, aged 31
• Teresea Fugate, aged 30
• Tammy Kilborn, aged 40

Robinson said Fugate was shot in front of her seven-year-old daughter.

Aftermath

Bodies of Neace and his five victims were sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for autopsies.

Shane Kidd said: “I don’t understand what could make somebody do something so horrible and take so many lives.” Family members and others described memorial plans including a memorial fund for the children of Rachel Strong at First National Bank in Jackson.

Arrangements for the other victims were still in the works, while funeral services for Sandra Strong were scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 1 at Watts Funeral Home.

Steve Smith said the shooting rampage ended with Neace turning the shotgun on himself after being found on his porch following the arrival of state police.

Other details

Trooper Jody Sims described how state police arrived about an hour after gunfire began, and said they heard a single gunshot and found Neace’s body on the porch. Sims said they found victims in two other mobile homes.

Kentucky State Police spokesman Tony Watts said they were still investigating what exactly happened.

Landlord Ray Rastegar described Neace as unpredictable and said he was in the trailer park for about seven years.

Sherri Anne Robinson described the gunman’s stated trigger as Neace being displeased with how his wife cooked his eggs, including the comment “Over eggs?”.

Landlord Ray Rastegar was quoted saying: “He was unpredictable,” and “Little things would set him off.”