Revenge drove Dad's murder-suicide police say

[smtotwo]

I don't know how to post articles here so I'm going to post the link.

Perhaps someone a little more computer-literate than I could post the article here.

Its about 2/3 down  the page

//www.startribune.com

Being as cynical as I am of the system and of the way they hand out restraining orders maybe it wasn't revenge at all but simply a man who didn't know what else to do to be with his daughter.

[msme]

When Wisconsin police discovered the bodies of John M. Tester and his 5-year-old daughter on a rural road early Sunday, they found a note taped to the dashboard of the car he had rented.

On it were names and phone numbers of relatives that Tester, 41, wanted notified. He had shot his sleeping daughter, Mikayla Nicole Tester, in the head before killing himself.

"It was a cold, calculated act," said Polk County Sheriff Ann Hraychuck, whose department investigated the case.

That became apparent, she said, after investigators searched Tester's home in St. Paul on Sunday and Monday.

They discovered that Tester had rented a car a few days earlier. He also had borrowed two handguns from a friend last week on the pretext that he was going to do some target shooting at a cabin in Wisconsin, Hraychuck said.

Investigators found a two-page letter Tester had written to his brothers in which he detailed his finances and outlined how his assets should be distributed after his death by posting notes on just about everything he owned, from stereo equipment to furniture.

"It was horrible what he did, but I don't think he planned this for weeks and weeks," said Gina Tester, a sister-in-law and one of the first people notified Sunday about the deaths.

She and other family members believe the murder-suicide was a spontaneous act by a man seeking to punish his ex-wife in the most brutal way possible. "I think it was his way of getting back at her," Gina Tester said. "I think it was his only way of getting revenge."

Tester's relationship with his ex-wife had been acrimonious, according to Ramsey County court documents.

Hraychuck and Polk County investigators agree the killings were motivated by revenge, but say they were methodically planned. Tester spent Saturday boating with his daughter and his brother on a Minnesota lake. The brother left Tester's house about 6:30 p.m.

"There was no indication that Tester was distraught or troubled," Hraychuck said.

Yet, about 8 p.m., Tester called his ex-wife to say he was "sorry" and then had Mikayla speak to her mother and say "she was going on a long journey with daddy," Hraychuck said.

The sheriff does not believe Tester had enough time after making that phone call to write the letter, write the notes, label his possessions and drive to Wisconsin. The bodies were found in Alden Township, about 30 miles northeast of St. Paul.

The rental car was seen in Alden Township about 10:30 p.m. A motorist discovered the bodies shortly after midnight.

Gina Tester said the divorce, custody issues and support payments gnawed at her brother-in-law. He feared losing his home and not seeing his daughter. "The custody battle was really ugly," she said. "I think they kept throwing darts at each other."

In July, Tester's child supports payments increased in by almost $200 per month, authorities said.

"I think he was a man who was pushed so far that his mind snapped," Gina Tester said.


This is so sad. Another one bites the dust.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

[kitten]

>Being as cynical as I am of the system and of the way they
>hand out restraining orders maybe it wasn't revenge at all but
>simply a man who didn't know what else to do to be with his
>daughter.


Even with that said....he had no right to take his daughter's life.  The best revenge would have been to remain steadfast in his daughter's life no matter the distance so that one day she could come back to him.

[msme]

not everyone has the strength to keep on fighting. Too bad he never found SPARC.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

[StPaulieGirl]

I wouldn't mind seeing the court records for this case.   I would like to know why his child support payments were hiked another 200 dollars, for one thing.  Acrimonius and divorce go hand in hand for the most part, but most parents don't kill their kids.

Yes it is sad, unecessary, and just awful.  As to the preplanned "last wishes"....well we should take a long look at Mr. Tester's history.

[MYSONSDAD]

Hmmmmm... Bet there is a story behind the story.

This says a lot:

Gina Tester said the divorce, custody issues and support payments gnawed at her brother-in-law. He feared losing his home and not seeing his daughter. "The custody battle was really ugly," she said. "I think they kept throwing darts at each other."

In July, Tester's child supports payments increased in by almost $200 per month, authorities said.



"Children learn what they live"

[kitten]

>not everyone has the strength to keep on fighting. Too bad he
>never found SPARC.
>
Sad but true.