LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A sheriff in Florida said a woman sliced her family members’ necks before cutting her own in a murder-suicide pact that was related to their eviction from their home.
The family survived and the woman is now facing charges.
Deputies said they were called to a home in Lehigh Acres, Florida, on Nov. 3 after getting a report of a suicide attempt, WFTV reported.
The caller, who was later identified as Barbara Bates, told operators that she and her family were going to commit suicide and that her husband’s throat and wrists were cut. Her son’s throat was also cut.
When they got there, they found the family in the master bedroom’s bed. All three had cuts to their necks, while the father and mother also had cuts to their forearm. Near Bates, deputies said they found a bloody box cutter, with her telling them that she had cut her husband and son, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s arrest report.
Deputies said that Bates, her husband Neil Bates and their son had consumed alcohol and sleeping pills in preparation to commit suicide after she had told her son that they were in the final process of being evicted and would soon be homeless, the report reads.
Neil Bates allegedly decided to go first because he could not hurt his son, law enforcement officials said.
Neil Bates cut his wrists, he told deputies and lost consciousness, with his wife cutting his throat. His story changed when he told deputies that he cut his own throat, according to detectives.
The son, who was not identified, said his mother cut his father’s throat, and that he then got nervous when he felt his father’s blood saturate his arm. But he said his mother cut his throat, and he passed out, the documents stated.
Barbara Bates waited about 30 to 40 minutes before turning the cutter on herself, telling deputies that she called 911 so someone could care for the family’s dog after they did.
All three were taken to an area hospital and were expected to recover.
She said she had lost the will to live after dealing with her son’s medical issues, then her husband’s job loss, and finally the eviction notice, according to the arrest report.
Barbara Bates was charged and is being held in the county jail.
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