Jennifer Berman

Background

Jennifer Berman was the mother of two teenagers, Alexander Berman and Jacqueline Berman, and the family lived in a West Palm Beach home on Pershing Way just off the Lake Worth Lagoon. Richard Berman, her husband and the father of the children, found the bodies of their son and daughter and Jennifer Berman in the home.

Jennifer Berman had deep financial woes. She had resorted to selling her late father's watch to buy gas and clothing for her kids. The family home had been in foreclosure, and the kids and their mother were to move out in February.

Richard Berman had filed for divorce in 2008. The couple later reconciled. Jennifer Berman filed for divorce in August 2012, but the couple remained living under the same roof for a while. They divorced in December, and the home had been sold.

Jennifer Berman was described as a nurse who worked 12-hour overnight shifts to make any income to support her children. Richard Berman was described as a successful realtor who sold multi-million dollar homes in South Florida and was described as a prominent realtor in luxury homes.

The offence

Police treated the deaths as a murder-suicide after all three died from gunshot wounds. The incident resulted in the deaths of Jennifer Berman, her son Alexander Berman, and her daughter Jacqueline Berman.

Investigation

Police released disturbing 911 calls from the moment Richard Berman and a neighbor discovered the bodies.

Investigators treated the deaths as a murder-suicide after all three died from gunshot wounds. Richard Berman was not considered a suspect, police said.

Arrest

No arrest was described.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

The same day, Jennifer Berman committed suicide by shooting herself. The deaths were confirmed after police arrived.

Aftermath

Grief counselors were made available at the teens’ school as their friends and peers came to grips with the tragedy. Friends described the period at school as one of disbelief and grieving.

The teens attended the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. It was described that Alex played cello and his sister Jacqueline played violin. Friends described Alexander Berman as an accomplished cello player and Jacqueline as extremely talented at the violin and a straight A student.

A neighbor, Marian Sklodowski, recalled that Jennifer Berman appeared upset, disappointed and confused, and said: “A couple of days ago, she was different,” adding: “You could see it in her face, there was something missing, something disturbed in her mind. The conversation, the language, the eyes … something was missing.”

Family friend Brian McManus described the circumstances of divorce and foreclosure and said: “Going through a divorce, foreclosure, a lot of that stuff which, it's an upsetting thing when you're going through a divorce and having to sell the beautiful house in this neighborhood, and it's just, she just seemed like she had been upset lately,” and continued: “You can't fathom, you can't understand what's going on in someone's head for things like that to happen.”

Friends described the immediate reaction at the school. One friend told WPTV: “At first it was just disbelief, going through stages of grief all at once. It's shocking to hear when it's one of your friends, you hear this on the news and don't think it will happen to you,” and another student added: “Everyone was crying, everyone was silent, it was a sad environment,'”

Richard Berman made statements during the 911 call. A neighbor told the dispatcher: “It looks like she’s laid in bed but she doesn’t have a face,” and said: “I think the girl's up in bed with her but when I saw what was upstairs I had to run back downstairs.” Richard Berman told the 911 operator he was heading to the house after his “ex-wife said she was going to harm the kids.” Richard said: “She sent me an email that she did the best thing for our family,” and said she “sent her cousin a text that she was going to kill the kids and herself.” After he found his son, Richard said: “Oh, s--t,” and also said: “I was just touching his head. He wasn't waking up. His alarm was on, he wasn't waking up, there's blood in his ear.” Later, in the moments before it became clear the daughter and son were shot dead, Richard said: “He’s not moving... I can't believe this is happening,” and said: “He’s not moving, there’s blood on his ear.” He said he was “terrified to enter the house,” and also said: “She sent her cousin a text that she was going to kill the kids and herself.” After the neighbor entered the home, the shocked neighbor yelled: “There's blood on the walls,” and said: “It looks like she’s laid in bed but she doesn’t have a face.”

The incident was described as following an announcement and communications by Jennifer Berman. It was stated that Jennifer Berman wrote Richard an email threatening to harm herself and the shared children, Alexander Berman, 16, and Jacqueline Berman, 15. It was also stated that she sent her cousin a text that she was going to kill the kids and herself.

Other details

A 911 tape released on Tuesday detailed the tense moments before and after Richard Berman discovered the bloodied bodies of his children.

The home was described as once belonged to Jennifer Berman’s mother and as having been in foreclosure since 2010. The family home was described as having been in foreclosure since 2010, with documents filed in court in May quoting issues during the dissolution of the marriage proceedings. The quoted court document language stated: “The husband has not paid the mortgage on the former marital home during the entire time of the dissolution of marriage proceeding,” and also stated: “He has not contributed to the support of the wife or of the minor children. In fact, he has refused to pay for toilet paper, buys food and supplies for himself and keeps them where the wife and children cannot access them.”

It was stated that last year Jennifer Berman petitioned a judge to remove Richard Berman from the home because of “emotional abuse,” and that she petitioned a judge again regarding “extreme emotional abuse and fighting (verbal) in home.”

The Bermans married in 1992 in Miami.

It was also stated that the couple shared equal custody of their two teenage children.

The property in which the murder-suicide took place had been described as recently sold after being in foreclosure since 2010. The mother and her two children were due to move out in February.