Mom's killing spree a puzzler to police

TABERNACLE, N.J. - A South Jersey mother shot all three of her children, killing two of them, before turning the gun on herself, State Police said yesterday.

The announcement confirmed what officials had suggested, but not spelled out, after a relative's horrific discovery of the family, all found shot in the same bed, on Thursday morning.

State Police Capt. Stephen Jones said there is more investigating to be done in the case of Jeannine LePage, but authorities wanted to share what they know so far "to allay any fears" about a killer on the loose in Tabernacle, a Pinelands town about 30 miles east of Philadelphia.

State Police Detective Geoff Noble said LePage, 44, used a handgun that had been purchased legally and was in the family for decades. He said she used a pillow to muffle any noise so the five other relatives who lived with them wouldn't hear the murder-suicide attempt.

Authorities have not said what prompted the mother to shoot her children. "We may never know with certainty, depending on the condition of LePage, what that motive was," Jones said. "That's something we're not prepared to address right now."

Nicholas Harriman, 14, and Nadia, 8, were killed. Their brother Alexander, 11, was wounded. Like his mother, he was at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Officials described them both as being in "extremely critical condition," suggesting that they are not expected to survive.

After autopsies of the two children, police were able to narrow the time frame of the shooting to between 5 and 9 a.m. Thursday.

The family's next-door neighbor, Jeanne Snedeker, was upset by the shooting, particularly Nadia's death.

"It's hard for me when I sit in my sunroom and look out my window," Snedeker said yesterday. "I can picture her running by and waving."

Snedeker said the girl was outgoing and always smiling. She said she did not know their mother well. She did recall a conversation they had in the past year or so about their mutual interest in rescuing animals.