st louis woman kills children then

St. Louis Woman Kills Children Then Herself - Felt Hopeless

Tragic story about someone being pushed to do the unthinkable. Of

course she did the wrong thing, but I can see how the pressures of

today's economy could give the feeling of hopelessness.

And some say that there are no "two Americas". But the people who

usually say that are those who are in the top half, doing well, making

a comfortable living, and they don't have to decide between their

prescription drugs/healthcare, and food. People in the top half often

either don't see those in the bottom half of America, or they simply

choose to ignore that they exists.

____________________________

Report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mom who killed girls, self felt hopeless

By Jeremy Kohler

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

JENNINGS -- The woman who shot her two daughters and herself to death

on New Year's Eve had been distraught because she felt she could not

successfully raise a family, police said Wednesday.

The woman, LaRhonda N. Mason, 29, was homeless, jobless and in debt.

She relied on friends for shelter, shuffling from house to house with

Teleanna, 11, and Jazelyn, 3. She made sure they were fed and clothed

and, by all accounts, did her best, said Jennings police Sgt. Shawn

Lane.

Her car was towed just after Christmas and she felt all opportunity

was lost with it, Lane said. She was inundated with bills. Without a

car, she couldn't work. Without a job she couldn't provide a home.

Two days before the deaths, she penned a four-page suicide letter

thanking everyone who had tried to help her, Lane said.

On Monday night, she packed her belongings into a plastic bag and set

off with her daughters from the home of a friend who had given her

shelter. The man was a friend whom she had known from a fast-food job.

The friend followed her in his car, talking to her out his window,

urging her to come home, Lane said. When he pulled over to get out,

she pulled out a revolver.

At 6:15, outside a wireless phone shop near West Florissant and

Apricot avenues, she tossed the suicide note to the ground, shot each

girl once in the head, and then herself.

Mason and Teleanna were pronounced dead at the scene. Jazelyn was

taken to St. Louis Children's Hospital and died a short time later.

Each had been hit by a single gunshot.

Inside the older girl's knapsack was a new journal, a Christmas

present. It was signed: "A journal for my little girl."

Police at first believed the friend had been the shooter. He was

partially clad and had been following Mason and her daughters. But

then they found the suicide note and confirmed that the handwriting

was hers.

Investigators learned later that the friend, whom they would not

identify, had let Mason store her belongings in his home. They had

stayed with him for a few days, and he was urging them to stay longer.

On Monday, Mason's sister Andrea, of St. Louis, published a memorial

to her on the Web, featuring un-captioned photographs of a woman and

two girls frolicking, laughing. But the family declined to be

interviewed.