Albert Peterson

Background

Albert Peterson shot dead his wife and two sons hours after going to church because he dreaded the thought of Obama winning the election. Police said Albert shot dead his family before turning the weapon on himself. A friend of the family said Albert suffered from debilitating paranoia, exacerbated by the upcoming election. The friend said, "He just did not want his kids inheriting this mess," and described that sometimes they thought he might take his own life when he was so depressed, but they never thought he would take Kathie's. The friend added, "Sometimes we thought he might take his own life when he was so depressed. We never thought he would take Kathie's."

A confidante of the family for the past 25 years, the friend described Albert and Kathie as having a long-standing closeness and said Albert and Kathleen Ortiz were married some 25 years ago, meeting over a mutual love of fitness. The friend, Maggie L, described Kathleen as Puerto Rican and said she had an indomitable spirit, always active and pursuing adventure. Maggie said: "That girl had such a zest for life," and that she was a consummate planner and "She never wanted to waste an ounce of life." Maggie added: "If I was having a crappy day, she would come. If I needed advice, I said, "Kathie, what do I do? What do I say?" and she always set me straight. She always had advice. She was always there." Maggie also said: "If she knew her husband would have done this to her, she would have protected those boys till the end."

Maggie said Albert's paranoia and depression prevented him from enjoying life. She said: "He's had difficulty his whole life," and "He had a rough time with paranoia." She said that at a young age both his father and his uncle committed suicide. Maggie said, "His dad suffered from alopecia and it was something he couldn't live with." Maggie said that after Albert's Uncle John killed himself, both Petersons were unnerved because they frequently sent their children to his home to spend time with him, and she recalled Albert saying: "God, what would have happened if our sons were there when it happened?" Maggie said she was still dumbfounded by what she described as an eerie precursor and said, "It just never crossed our minds." She said that as his life continued, his bouts of paranoia became so severe that he wallowed in depression, gained weight, and contemplated taking his own life.

Maggie said that after Albert's mother died five years ago, his wife had to pull him from the brink of suicide, and Maggie said: "Kathie was a strong person and she probably put her foot down, like she did five years ago," adding, "Kathie couldn't believe the way he was acting and how he thought." Maggie said Kathleen wanted to be out doing something—biking, hiking, tubing—and that Albert's frustration with that frustrated her, and Maggie said: "She just wanted to be living life and he took that from her." Maggie said this spring Albert lost his Uncle Bill to an infection, whom he looked up to as the family patriarch, and Maggie said: "He felt like there was no one left in his family."

Maggie also said Mrs Peterson's family never fully warmed to Albert. She said, "I know that Kathie's brother hates him right now. Kathie's brother didn't speak to Al," and Maggie said, "He saw something in Al that probably didn't sit well with him." Maggie said that recently Albert began writing paranoid emails to friends and family about politics on a daily basis, sometimes even more frequently, and Maggie said, "I got emails and the emails stopped all of a sudden last week." Maggie said Albert felt that "our God-given rights were being taken away" and that he "didn't like where the country was going."

Maggie said Albert also mentioned pressures at work that troubled her, and she explained: "He said he wanted to expose something at work. He also got the impression at work, that if they didn't vote for Obama and get him elected, they would lose their jobs," and she said: "We don't know. Maybe she put her foot down Sunday night and told him "Al get it together,"" noting that both Kathleen and Albert had security clearances. Maggie said: "When Al was here last time, he was pretty worked up," and that "They were very well off people and they saved a lot of money. He couldn't understand how the government could be so irresponsible and he thought it would be on the backs of his boys."

Police confirmed that Albert's feelings toward politics were unusually passionate, but declined to speculate what precipitated the tragedy. Lucy Caldwell of the Fairfax Police Department said: "We don’t know the motive in this tragic case," and she said, "We are aware that the father had strong political opinions but cannot speculate as to how those opinions related to this case. We will, most likely, never know exactly why this occurred."

As close as Maggie remained to the family, she said she could not come to grips with what happened, and she said: "To think that their father could do this to them..." She added, "The boys were so beautiful." Maggie said Matthew was born premature and remembered how small he was, and she said: "This boy was something special. Matthew didn’t have a mean bone in body. He protected kids that were bullied in school," describing the boys as being raised by one of the best moms and saying: "Those boys were raised by one of the best Moms. Kathie knew every minute where her boys were. Those boys were never in trouble."

Maggie said last weekend the family attended a Mitt Romney rally together, and she said: "I asked him where he wanted to go to college. He said Liberty University. He was so excited about going," and that she was weeping. She said Albert never made it to the rally because he got stuck trying to park the car and, because his knees were bad, he couldn't walk to the event. Maggie said: "Mr Peterson never made it to the rally. He got stuck trying to park the car and since his knees were bad, he couldn't walk to the event."

Maggie also said that the church would hold a candlelight vigil and that she remembered how Matthew had plans for college. Neighbors and community members wore black and white to mark mourning and peace for classmates of the boys.

The offence

The preliminary police investigation indicated that Albert Peterson killed his wife and their children before taking his own life. Police said each deceased died of gunshot wounds to the upper body.

Police entered the home and found four bodies inside. Investigators were looking at when the apparent murder-suicide occurred, and Lucy Caldwell said: "The individuals were reported not being at work yesterday and today, so we're looking at that time frame."

Investigation

Fairfax County police said the deaths were being investigated as suspicious. Autopsies were to be conducted by the office of the medical examiner to determine cause of death. Police declined to identify the family members at one point, but a local minister named the family members while organising a vigil. Police would not say how the family was killed and said nobody in the neighborhood was in danger. Authorities were not testing for carbon monoxide or any other poisonous gas. A law enforcement official said the family members were found in their home in an apparent murder-suicide.

Detectives felt the situation was contained within the house. Lucy Caldwell said: "Detectives feel that the situation was contained within the house." Police said they did not believe there was a threat to public safety.

Arrest

No arrest was reported.

Trial

No trial was reported.

Sentencing

No sentencing was reported.

Appeals

No appeals were reported.

Outcome

Albert Peterson committed suicide by shooting himself the same day after shooting dead his wife and two sons.

Aftermath

Co-workers alerted police after the couple had failed to show up for work. The family was last seen at a community picnic Sunday night at 5 p.m., where Albert spoke with residents while his two boys played soccer with other children before Kathleen drove them home.

A minister, Reverend Tom Berlin, organised a vigil and said: "Everyone is feeling a great deal of grief over this loss and are searching for answers that are not known at this time," and he said: "While the names of the family members have not been released by the police or press at this time, this is the home of Al and Kathie Peterson, who have two sons, Christopher and Matthew. Many of you will know this family."

Students at Rachel Carson Middle School and Westfield High School wore black to school on Wednesday to mourn their classmates and wore white as a sign of peace on Thursday. The church planned a candlelight vigil at Floris at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday so the community could come together to express grief.

People in the community described the family as friendly and quiet. Neighbor Jeremy Wilcox said: "They were your typical American family," and that they were quiet and friendly: "They were quiet, friendly, very friendly." Another neighbor Ed Swanson said: "He was a good neighbor, a good guy, a good family," and added: "It’s a shock ... How do you react to something like this? It’s terrible." Sherry Webster described Albert as a "big, burly guy" and Kathleen as "always full of energy and talkative" and called the couple friendly.

Alvaro Lopes told CBS that Albert had also been taking heart medication that may have altered his moods and said: 'He seemed dizzy… just different,' and that hearing about what happened made him think it could have something to do with it. Another neighbor described the neighborhood as nice and quiet and said: "This is a nice, quiet neighborhood," and "The police are never called out here. This is tragic."

Neighbors said the family lived in the neighborhood for 28 years and moved into their house more than 20 years ago. They described them as always pleasant to speak with, working in the yard, on the porch waving at cars or barbecuing, and as neighborhood greeters. They said the father would strap a plow onto the front of his pickup truck and drive around the block to ensure neighbors could get to work whenever it snowed.

On social media, classmates expressed shock. One tweet said: "Matt rode my bus and I never paid much attention to him. really wish I did now," using the Twitter handle @madiemasonn. Another tweet said: "Life can change in a second appreciate it," using the Twitter handle @DSosa10.

Other details

Albert Peterson was 57. Kathleen Peterson was 52. Matthew was 16. Christopher was 13. The family lived at 13391 Point Rider Lane in Herndon, Virginia.

Police had gone to check on the family after the employers of Albert and Kathleen contacted authorities because neither had turned up for work on Monday or Tuesday. Police entered the home around noon on Tuesday and found the four bodies.

Reverend Tom Berlin revealed the family names while organising a vigil. Maggie L was described as a friend of the family for the past three decades, including being a confidante for the past 25 years.

Albert Peterson was described as a defense contractor and worked in information technology business, and Kathleen worked at Blackbird Technologies, a company that specializes in defense, law enforcement and intelligence work. Kathleen also owned an office supply store, KOPS or Kathie's Office Products and Supply, Inc.

Christopher was an eighth grader at Rachel Carson Middle School. Matthew was a sophomore at Westfield High School. Both were described as avid soccer players and active at their church.

Neighbors described a minivan with a soccer sticker in the driveway and a blue pickup truck in front of the house.

Police did not disclose any details on the deaths at one time but said they did not believe there was a threat to public safety. Autopsies were planned by the office of the medical examiner to determine cause of death. Police also investigated when the apparent murder-suicide occurred, looking at the timeframe when the individuals were reported not being at work.

Lucy Caldwell confirmed Albert's feelings toward politics were unusually passionate but declined to speculate on how those opinions related to the case.