Hopkins daycare murder-suicide: No domestic violence record, but experts say abuse often goes unseen
Hopkins daycare deaths: Experts on hidden abuse
A Hopkins in-home daycare became the final scene of a tragedy that left four people dead, including a 7-year-old girl, after a man killed his wife, their daughter, and a 78-year-old woman before taking his own life. Investigators found no prior domestic violence record, but experts say that's not uncommon — many victims choose not to report abuse because they fear it could put them or their family in greater danger. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has more.
HOPKINS, Minn. (FOX 9) - Investigators are still working to understand why a man killed his wife, their 7-year-old daughter and a 78-year-old woman at another home before taking his own life at a Hopkins daycare on Wednesday morning.
Investigators search for answers in daycare tragedy
What we know:
Hopkins police said the man stabbed his wife, their 7-year-old daughter and a 78-year-old woman to death before killing himself. The couple had experienced relationship problems, but there is no record of previous domestic violence issues.
The man and his wife were both 41.
The 78-year-old woman was found dead at a home in Burnsville. Police said the man had been living with her.
The man’s name only appears in Hennepin County court records twice, with both cases involving minor issues like fishing and operating a snowmobile without a permit. Inspection records for his wife's in-home daycare did not reveal any problems.
A search warrant revealed that the wife had planned to close her daycare soon due to "relationship issues" with her husband.
Investigators have not found a clear motive for the violence. The man did not leave a suicide note.
Experts say domestic abuse can be hidden
What they're saying:
"Domestic violence isn’t always visible, right. It isn’t always, you know, the sort of image of a black eye that people go to," said Katie Kramer, co-executive director of Violence Free Minnesota.
Kramer explained that some victims may avoid reporting abuse because they fear it could make things worse.
"If they know that calling – involving law enforcement could put them or their family at risk, that might a safety choice for them to not report that abuse...." she said.
Violence Free Minnesota has tracked domestic violence-related homicides across the state since the late 1980s. Over the last four decades, the group counted 231 homicides that left 267 people dead. In most cases, the suspects were men and the majority used guns.
"It is sort of the ultimate act of power and control, right. It is the outcome which we don’t want to see, which is murder, right," she said. "That is the last way for a perpetrator to gain that control, and then when we see suicides that’s also a way for those abusers to not have to be held accountable."
Kramer also emphasized the importance of letting victims decide what is best for them when it comes to reporting domestic violence.
What we don't know:
The medical examiner has not released the names of those involved.