Mary Ganshert, 36
Troy 'T.J.' Klein, Jr. 14
Mandi Ganshert, 5
WI, Hillsboro, Vernon Co.
February 2, 2005
Joseph Ganshert, 42, shot his wife, Mary; stepson, Troy; and daughter, Mandi in their heads as they slept.
The morning after murdering his family, Joseph called the children’s schools to say that they were sick and would not be in school. He then called and arranged to meet his sister later that day. Joseph drove to her Lafayette County farm, and committed suicide with the same .357-caliber pistol that he used to kill Mary, Troy, and Mandi. When his sister returned home she found a note from Joseph asking her to notify the police. He left notes in both his sister’s home and his Hillsboro home that included details for funeral arrangements for the family. In one he wrote, “Today God asked me to bring my family to heaven.”
As Lafayette County deputies notified the Hillsboro police that Joseph’s suicide note indicated that Mary might be in danger, the bodies were discovered in their home after family members became concerned when Mary failed to meet her sister as planned. Another relative who was concerned about Mary’s whereabouts stopped by the house, discovered one of the notes, and called the police.
In December of 1998 Mary contacted police with concerns about her husband. She reported that Joseph was depressed, had not been working, and was staying in bed. Joseph was voluntarily hospitalized as a result of her call. In 1986 Joseph was arrested under an emergency detention order after he shot himself in the stomach in an attempted suicide while separated from his first wife. He was also detained by police in 1992 for writing a letter to his girlfriend that threatened violence and brandishing a gun to his parents.
Source:
WCADV.org - Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence - Homicide Reports - 2005 DV Homicide Report
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