CT security guard murders wife, commits suicide
BRIDGEPORT CT July 8 2017 — The distraught mother of the woman who was killed in a murder-suicide said her daughter was continually battered and humiliated by her husband, who she said threatened to kill her on more than one occasion.
“He beat her with his gun, he threatened her many times,” said Madeline Gonzalez, the mother. “She was continuously abused and he would always say to her, ‘One day I will kill you’ — and that day came.”
Police on Thursday identified the couple who died in their home at the Trumbull Gardens public housing complex. Keith Knox, 32, shot and killed his wife Jennifer Knox, 33, with a handgun before turning the weapon on himself, Bridgeport police spokeswoman Rowena White said. The shootings occurred Wednesday around 7 p.m.
Gonzalez described the husband as obsessively jealous, a man who would would fly into a rage whenever his wife had even a fleeting contact with another man.
She also said he was seeing other women, and that the tragedy likely took place after Jennifer confronted Keith about his straying.
“He never thought about the children — and he shoots himself like a coward,” she said, adding that it was her granddaughter who discovered the bodies.
“She found her mother lying dead on the floor by the television, and then she saw blood all over the place,” she said. “My granddaughter said, ‘Mommy’s cold, mommy’s cold!’ ”
Orphaned were their three children, all under the age of 15, according to White. The children are staying with other family members.
Heartbroken family members congregated outside of the Trumbull Gardens duplex as a professional cleaning crew wearing protective garments was called in to put the apartment in order.
Despite this apparent legacy of abusive behavior — the couple had been married for about seven years — police said they were not aware of any history of domestic violence or police interaction at the address where they died. They did not release additional biographical details about the couple.
A neighbor, Mohammed Hamid, described the couple as hardworking and they even helped him out when his family moved in two years ago. He said that the husband worked as a security guard and that he often wore a gun belt.
Hamid said their three children seemed happy and well-adjusted.
But there were signs of trouble.
“He was here a lot, but he wasn’t living here — he’d come by from time-to-time,” Hamid said. “After the fireworks, they came back here and they seemed pretty upset with one another. They went in and they never came out. When you snap, bad things happen.”
As neighbors reacted to the tragedy early yesterday, police were busy with an incident just up the street when shots were fired near Mayor Joe Ganim, who was visiting the home of another murder victim.
For Jennifer Knox’s struggling family, the cost of burying her also poses an additional burden, and they appealed for help in paying for her funeral.
Arrangements are being made by the Luz De Paz Funeral Home, 426 East Washington Ave., Bridgeport. The phone number is 203-330-8081. The family will receive mourners there Wednesday, July 12, beginning at 11 a.m., and the funeral will begin a 1 p.m., also at the funeral home.
CTPOST
