St Louis murder suicide: Mary Jo Trokey kills husband, Matthew Trokey, 3-month old daughter and then herself
Missouri authorities are confirming details surrounding a murder suicide of a family found Friday. Now identified as Mary Jo Trokey, her husband, Matthew and the couple’s 3-month-old daughter, Taylor Rose, police are pointing to Mary Jo as the shooter.
Mary Jo, 32, Matthew, 33, and the couple’s baby, were found dead at their home Friday afternoon by one of the baby’s grandparents, who immediately called 911. The gun was found by officers when they arrived at the home on the 6200 block of Kinsey Place about 3:45 p.m. Friday.
The Trokey family
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Captain Eric Larson confirmed it was a murder suicide.
Larson said all three were found in the same part of the home, stated that there was no sign of forced entry and no one else was home at the time of the shootings, which police believe happened overnight.
“We’re used to seeing trauma and violence,” Larson said. “What we’re not used to seeing is having it occur to innocent victims.”
Mary Jo Trokey is believed to be the shooter as the investigators are tracking her purchase of a gun in the days before the shooting late Thursday night or early Friday, and are investigating mental illness as a possible cause.
Daily Mail reported that “Postpartum psychosis, a disorder which can be triggered by childbirth, is known to cause delusional and irrational behavior, and in rare cases, can even cause the mother to harm her child.”
The Trokey family’s pastor told the Post-Dispatch Saturday that he had seen no sign of trouble.
The Trokeys lived in the area their whole life and have been attending St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood for about two years, said the Rev. Bob Reiker. A church newsletter in December congratulated the couple on the Dec. 17 baptism of their daughter.
Reiker tells PEOPLE that Mary Jo worked for two years with the church’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, which worked with low-income people in the neighborhood.
“It’s hard to imagine what happened,” said Reiker, who christened the couple’s daughter. “People are baffled by it. It’s inexplicable how someone could do this to themselves, let alone their little girl.”
