Ohio teacher Jennifer Abshire identifed as victim in murder suicide
The woman killed Tuesday in a murder and suicide was identified by police and the family as a longtime special needs teacher in Akron elementary schools.
Jennifer Abshire, 44, died Tuesday in an apparent murder and suicide, according to family members and police. After killing his wife, Thomas Abshire, 44, fatally shot himself during a traffic stop in Doylestown about 3:30 a.m., also verified by family members and now police.
Police have detailed how a Doylestown police officer chased after a man in minivan which ran through a red light after making eye contact with the officer. After a few moments on the highway, the van rolled to the shoulder and the officer found Thomas Abshire dead with a handgun in his lap.
Family members noted that there were financial problems and Thomas was reeling from the recent deaths of his parents and a close friends. Jennifer’s father believes that Thomas may “have snapped.”
“She was a very smart and intelligent woman,” her mother Susan Carroll said to Cleveland.com. “She took care of those children like they were her own. She was an advocate for her children. She was a blessed person. There’s a hole in my heart.”
Abshire worked as a teacher sixteen years, most recently at Betty Jane Elementary. The couple was reportedly married in 2002.
photo/Fbi.gov public domain
