Five Shot Dead in Sumter: Guy murders his two children, stepchild, and another man before committing suicide. And the guy was revealed as a former soldier who fatally shot three sleeping children inside their South Carolina home before turning the gun on himself Tuesday night, according to police. Charles Slacks Jr., 42, also shot and killed another soldier, 38, who worked with his ex-wife during the disturbing murder-suicide. Keep reading this post to learn more about the suspect Charles Slacks Jr and this case.
Murder-Suicide case: What happened?
A father murdered his two kids, a stepchild, and another man before shooting himself. During the horrific murder-suicide, Charles Slacks Jr., 42, also shot and killed another soldier, 38, who worked with his ex-wife. That occurred on Whitetail Circle on Tuesday night just before 10:00, according to the police.
As per the authority’s statement, the suspect, 42-year-old Charles Slacks, allegedly used a key to enter his ex-home wife’s and then made his way to the backyard. Unexpectedly, according to reports, Slacks opened fire on the male, 38, who was speaking to the woman. The three children, his two sons, and their half-sister were sleeping upstairs as Slacks made his way there.
When the female made an effort to overtake Slacks. She ran outside and attempted to use the man who had been shot earlier’s phone after he pointed the gun at her.
The woman then heard several bullets coming from within. Slacks allegedly shot himself in front of her as she fled back inside the house.
After gathering her phone, the mom checked on her three children and Slacks and discovered they had all passed away, according to Police. The 38-year-old was taken to Prisma Health Toumey by EMS, where he later passed away as a result of his wounds.
“As adults, we’re not trained to bury a child,” said Russell Roark, chief of the Sumpter Police Department. This episode is quite emotional. The public is not in danger, one of the two guys attended Alice Drive Middle School while the other two children went to Millwood Elementary School as per officers’ statement. Police in Sumter is still investigating this case.
Who was Charles Slacks Jr?
According to court documents cited by WIS-TV, the mother, Aletha Holliday, and Slacks had two children together: Aayden Holliday-Slacks, age 5, and his brother, Aason Holliday-Slacks, age 6.
Ava Holliday, the half-sister of the brothers, was Slacks’ stepdaughter before their divorce on March 2, as per the court documents.
Quick Facts about the Suspect
- Aletha Holliday, an American Army sergeant major, was his wife. He oversaw the logistics of munitions while working as a civilian for the defense department at U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter County, South Carolina, in the United States.
- He worked in intelligence for the United States Army between 1999 and 1996. Ava Holliday, who was born in 2011, has him as her stepfather. In Sumter County, Ava went to Alice Drive Middle School.
- In 2016, Aletha gave birth to their son Aaron Holliday Slacks. Aaron attended Millwood Elementary School in Sumter. In 2017, Aletha gave birth to their son Aayden Holliday Slacks. Aayden attended Millwood Elementary School.
- He got divorced from Aletha on January 1st, 2022. Aletha filed for divorce on February 21, 2023, citing their separation. His divorce from Aletha was formally finalized on March 2, 2023.
- On March 21, 2023, at about 10:30 p.m., he used a key to enter Aletha’s home in Sumter’s Woodridge neighborhood and observed her conversing with her male coworker, 38, an active-duty soldier also assigned to U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base, in the backyard.
- Before fatally shooting himself, the man shot Ava, Aaron, Aayden, and the other person. At the age of 42, he passed away.
Why did the Suspect shoot and killed his own family?
Holliday’s LinkedIn profile states that she is an Army sergeant major. It is unclear why Slacks went to the house to carry out his gruesome murder because the dead soldier, who worked with the mother of the children, had no other contact with her beyond their shared employment. When he arrived at the house at about 10:30 p.m., he still had a key.
The identity of the killed soldier has not been made public as investigators try to find his family. According to Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker, “It was a long night.” Simply said, this is a terrible thing. According to the Army, Slacks and the slain soldier were both stationed at US Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base.
Slacks served in the Army from 1999 to 2006 and worked in weapons supplies at the Air Force facility, according to Military.com.
According to representatives of the Sumter school system, two of the children attended an elementary school in the county and the third youngster attended middle school.
State Sen. Thomas McElveen, who represents Sumter, led the state Senate in a moment of silence. “As a father, I am nauseated up here talking about it,” the Democrat and father of three said. In a tweet, he called the tragedy an “evil, tragic, and unthinkable act.”
This is an Ongoing Investigation case, Stay tuned for updates on this case.
KEEP READING,
How did Gunter Nezhoda die? Storage Wars actor cause of death explained
Follow us on Twitter for more updates
Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.