Bradley Stone

Background

Bradley W. Stone was 35 and was an ex-husband of Nicole Stone. He was also described as a Marine veteran and an Iraq War veteran. In 2010, Bradley Stone was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans Affairs officials found him “100 percent service-connected disabled.” Military records indicated that he was in Iraq for about three months in 2008. There was no record of his having been wounded during his service.

Bradley Stone had a history of driving-under-the-influence charges. He was under the supervision of Montgomery County Veterans Court after pleading guilty to drunken driving in 2013, which was described as his third DUI arrest. In 2004, he served 30 days in jail on a previous case. As part of his probation, Stone was not allowed to own guns.

Stone remarried last year. He had a baby with his new wife, Jennifer Ovdiyenko Stone. Stone and Jennifer Ovdiyenko Stone had a baby together, and they were also being held at a secure location after the attacks. Stone’s new wife and boy were not injured.

Since filing for divorce from Nicole Stone in 2009, their relationship had grown increasingly bitter, with a protracted battle for custody of their two daughters. Nicole Stone expressed fears for her safety. Nicole Stone’s aunt Connie McGaughey said Bradley Stone filed an emergency petition for custody of 5-year-old Kayla and 8-year-old Shannon last week after learning that Nicole had sought treatment for drug addiction. McGaughey said that Nicole’s mother had also sought custody of the girls and that the custody fights between Nicole and Bradley were a constant topic of conversation for the family.

Relatives and neighbors said Nicole Stone had expressed fears for her safety. Andrew Radtke said he had been friends with Nicole for about 10 years and worried about her relationship with Bradley Stone “ever since they first met.” A neighbor who called police after hearing gunshots in Nicole Stone’s apartment confronted Bradley Stone as he led the girls to his car.

The offence

Bradley Stone’s rampage spanned 40 miles, traumatized three schools, killed six family members, and orphaned three children. Investigators described three separate crime scenes.

Nicole Stone, 33, was shot at least twice in the head in the Harleysville apartment she shared with their two young daughters. Investigators said her two young daughters had been taken by their father.

Bradley Stone also killed Nicole Stone’s mother and grandmother at Nicole Stone’s mother and grandmother’s Lansdale home. Nicole Stone’s mother and grandmother were found dead in their Lansdale home, one with her throat slit and the other apparently shot in an eye.

Investigators found Nicole Stone’s sister in Souderton. Patricia Flick and her husband, Aaron Flick, and their 14-year-old daughter, Nina Flick, were beaten, cut, or shot to death in their Souderton home. Investigators said only their 17-year-old son, Anthony Flick, survived the attack. Anthony Flick was found barricaded on the third floor with a gaping head wound.

Killed family members named in the account were:

• Nicole Stone, 33 (shot at least twice in the head in the Harleysville apartment; ex-wife of Bradley Stone).
• Joanne T. Gilbert, 57 (Nicole Stone’s mother; throat slashed, possibly also shot, in her Lansdale home).
• Patricia Hill, 75 (Gilbert’s mother, Nicole Stone’s grandmother; shot in the face, with defensive cutting wounds on her arms, in the home she shared with Gilbert).
• Patricia Flick, 36 (Nicole Stone’s sister; shot at least once in the head, with slicing injuries on her legs, in her Souderton home).
• Aaron Flick, 39 (Patricia Flick’s husband; “significant” injuries unspecified in the affidavit in one account).
• Nina Flick, 14 (daughter of Patricia and Aaron Flick; massive blunt-force and cutting injuries to her face and skull).

Anthony Flick, 17, was the sole survivor. He was found with a gaping head wound and severed fingers. Prosecutors believed he was injured trying to defend his sister. He was in stable condition last week at a hospital in Philadelphia in one account.

The two surviving children were:

• Shannon Stone, 8 (daughter of Nicole and Bradley Stone; described as in protective custody).
• Kayla Stone, 5 (daughter of Nicole and Bradley Stone;