Plano Police Investigating Family Double Murder & Suicide
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COLLIN COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Plano are investigating a double murder and suicide. One of the murder victims, an adult female, is Stacy Fawcett, a 103.7 KVIL/CBS Radio food blog contributor. The second murder victim is her son, 17-year old Josiah Utu.
Officials at CBS Radio station KVIL issued a statement that said, in part:
"Our hearts are heavy with the passing of our dear friend, Stacy Fawcett. You know her as our awesome foodie blogger, but she was so much more than that.
We will miss her kind, gentle spirit and her loving personality. But even as we mourn her loss, we want to celebrate her wonderful gift for – and love of – food."
Stacy Fawcett, 45, was a Dallas native. Fawcett's brother, Justin, made the following post on Facebook early this morning -
"I'm sad to share that Stacy Fawcett and her two sons McCann Utu 19 and Josiah Utu 17 passed away in the early morning hours today, April 8th. She and her boys were deeply loved and will be missed."
Justin Fawcett said his sister was an incredible mother whose children were everything to her. He described her as a loving and free-spirited person, who "lit up the room."
The boy's father, McCann Utu, Sr. released the following statement Friday afternoon:
"I am shocked and devastated and obviously still trying to process what has happened. My sons were my life and Stacy and I were very proud of the young men they were becoming.
Please allow us this time to grieve and respect our privacy. I ask for your prayers during the next several days as this will be the hardest thing we will ever have to deal with."
It was just after midnight when officers went to the Carrington Park Apartments, in the 3100 block of Communications Parkway, after getting a call from a man who said he had committed murder. The caller is believed to have been Fawcett's other son, 19-year old McCann Utu Jr.
Arriving officers found Josiah Utu and Fawcett dead. McCann Utu was also at the apartment. He had been stabbed several times, but was alive when officers entered the residence. McCann Utu was taken to Presbyterian Hospital of Plano in critical condition and later died from his injuries.
Officials say their investigation is ongoing, but believe McCann Utu stabbed and killed his mother and brother.
Justin Fawcett said his nephew, McCann, had suffered a traumatic brain injury from a concussion he got while playing basketball several years ago. He said McCann was unable to go to school and that his sister took him on doctors appointments "regularly."
Justin said it, "...was like a switch flipped on him," and that he'd become concerned because the teen had been acting peculiar lately.
Plano police spokesperson Officer Tilley said, "Based on our investigation it appears that this individual had self-inflicted wounds, that he had given himself, and had also committed the murders of the other two individuals."
Maria Bowens lives across from the victims. She said Fawcett was always friendly and in the past days didn't give any hint that anything was wrong. "She's always been very personable. We would sit, and we would talk, and she would always have encouraging words. You would never know if there was something going [on], you would never know it because she was always smiling."
♦ Community Remembers Fawcett And Her Sons
By late Friday afternoon those who knew Fawcett and her children came together in mourning. Hundreds of students comforted and consoled each other on the campus of Plano West Senior High School. Josiah Utu was a junior there this year. McCann Utu was also been a student there.
The students who gathered struggled to understand how this could have happened. Many describe the brothers, both popular athletes at the school, as beloved young men, but some who knew them well say in hindsight, warning signs were there.
Friends said the recent death of McCann's close friend was what prompted him on Wednesday to tweet, "I prob will be the next to die..."
"You know, a lot of people saw that and I think took it as a joke, but I think everyone wants to be cool, and it's hard sometimes to put your true feelings out there and lend a helping hand to someone," family friend Alex Bauer said.
The family's neighbor who did not want to appear on camera and asked to be identified only as "Joel" said since McCann's head injury, his mother would sometimes ask for help finding him.
"He would run off. She couldn't find him or whatever, and we would have to all get out here and spread out and look for him, and we would always help her get him and keep a close watch on him," Joel said.
Now friends like Bauer said they wish they could have done more to help McCann.
"I think there's a lot of stuff going on that no one has any idea about, and when you don't share the thoughts that are in your own head, you get some demons that can come out when you don't them to," Bauer said.
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