A grandfather who killed eight people, including his pregnant daughter and her children, never seemed to be in distress and was “always smiling,” according to the father of one of his victims.
“I think that was a front for him,” Julius Windham said of the grandfather, Matthew Stone Sr., following the shooting, according to the New York Post. “Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think [that] nothing like that would happen.”
Windham shared daughter Amari’anna, 22 months, with the shooter’s daughter, Angelina Stone. Amari’anna and Angelina, 24, were among the victims, as well as her son Isiah, 5, and her unborn child.
Matthew, 45, took his own life after he shot seven family members and a family friend at a home in Erie Pennsylvania on Friday, October 9.
Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz’s family paid tribute to their late family member in a joint statement after she and her six children were killed by her husband, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, in an apparent murder-suicide. The family’s GoFundMe page explained that the fundraiser was intended to help Mandy’s mother, Becky Lawwill and her stepfather, Steve Lawwill, with the […]
In addition to Angelina and her kids, the victims have been identified as Michelle Stone, Jonathan Stone, Matthew Stone, Lora Roberts and Twila Tanner.
Following the tragedy, mourners visited the crime scene on Sunday, October 11, and placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside of the home. Windham wore a T-shirt with pictures of the Stone and her children, which included text that read, “Forever In My Heart.”
“Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now,” Windham said. “But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”
Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz’s father, Gary Anderson, spoke out after she was murdered and insisted he “still loves” her husband, Kristopher Karolkiewicz, after he killed her and their six kids in an apparent murder-suicide. “I love my daughter Mandy, and I loved those six children. In a way, I still love Kris,” Anderson told The Detroit […]
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said that authorities learned of the killings when neighbors heard muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside. Roberts, 37, and Tanner, 51, who lived at different addresses, went to the home to see what was happening and started pounding on the door. Matthew then came out and shot the women as they ran toward him.
Roberts has been confirmed to be a relative of the shooter, while Tanner was a family friend.
GoFundMe pages have since been set up for some of the victims. In one page launched to help Roberts’ family, it was revealed that she was a mother of five children and was engaged to her fiancé of 14 years. “Her sudden loss has left her loved ones facing heartbreak as well as immediate financial needs during an unimaginable time,” the GoFundMe page said.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page for Tanner said that she was “bravely trying to help a friend protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual.”
The fundraiser claimed that Tanner was fatally shot while trying to save Roberts’ niece during the shooting, and it’s believed that Roberts and Tanner were the last two people killed before the grandfather died by suicide.
It’s not currently clear if authorities believe Matthew had a motive in the killings.
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