Officials: Update on Berks tragedy Monday, after funerals
Willow, 2, was a "warrior," who loved Donald Duck. Her sister, Liana, 8, was "witty, sassy," and the family prankster. Mark Jr., 5, "approved of hugs, but kisses were out."
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Willow, 2, was a "warrior" who loved Donald Duck. Her sister, Liana, 8, was "witty, sassy," and the family prankster. Mark Jr., 5, "approved of hugs, but kisses were out."
As those descriptions emerged Wednesday of the three siblings shot and killed alongside their parents in the living room of their home in Sinking Spring, Pa., on Saturday, investigators signaled that their work was nearing an end.
Berks County officials did not disclose details or findings of an autopsy on Mark Short, 40, the father.
But Reading's top criminal investigator announced that he would hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Monday - after the planned Friday funerals of heart-transplant survivor Willow, her siblings, and her mother, Megan Swingle Short, in Northeast Philadelphia, where they have relatives.
"There will be no further updates until that time so that we may focus all of our efforts into bringing closure to this investigation," Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar said in a statement. "We ask that you respect the privacy of the families during this difficult time."
Police found a gun near one of the adults and a suicide note in the kitchen of the home, in a development of large detached houses 70 miles from Philadelphia. They also said they discovered a history of domestic discord, but did not elaborate.
In funeral announcements published Wednesday in the Inquirer, the children and their mother were remembered as gentle, spunky, and strong.
According to the funeral home, the death notices were submitted by the family of Jacquelyn Massott Campbell, a longtime journalist for the Bucks County Courier Times. Her daughter and grandchildren were those killed.
Willow, only six days old when she underwent a heart transplant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was remembered for a toughness matched by a penchant for classic toddler mischief.
"Her second home for the first year was CHOP, where she became an expert at putting on EKG stickers, and other medical procedures," the death notice said. "Yet, she loved life and was the happiest child ever. She was funny, loved Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, dancing, taking walks, pulling all the tissues out of a box, opening the refrigerator every few minutes and opening the pantry."
The latest book her sister was reading was Alice in Wonderland. Liana, the notice read, "loved school, art, dressing up, parties, Barbies, princesses, and playing tricks on her family. Plus, she would always reveal the end of a movie."
Mark had a contagious smile and loved things both rough and sweet: "Monster games, hide-and-seek, tag, swings at the playground, and games that involved running after him. He mostly loved cuddling and watching a movie."
Megan Short, who was said to have been planning to move out of the house before the slayings, was recalled as an "awesome mom" who "put her babies above all."
"She was spiritual, a deep thinker, an eloquent writer who studied the dictionary and practiced vocabulary as a teenager." Instead of tears, "she would want smiles, laughter and family and friends to recall the love she had for all."
Megan Short and the children will be remembered at an 11 a.m. Mass on Friday at Our Lady of Calvary Church in Northeast Philadelphia.
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