In the past calendar year, there have been four reported murder-suicides in Augusta-Richmond County, far too many for a community our size.
According to Coroner Mark Bowen, the commonality his office sees in these crimes is that the murder-suicide occurs with elderly couples where at least one of the pair was experiencing severe, if not, terminal health complications.
It is our understanding that such was the case with Christopher Crowder, 77, and Juanita Crowder, 72, both of whom were found dead in their National Hills home on April 8. As far as anyone know, the pair lived an idyllic life in retirement until Christopher pulled a gun on his wife, killed her and then turned the weapon on himself.
We cannot begin to fathom what goes on in the mind of someone who has been married in a loving relationship for decades, suddenly turning a gun on their loved one, and then turning the weapon on themselves.
It warms the heart to hear stories of couples being married for 50 plus years and each dying of natural causes within weeks of one another, as if their bodies simply could not go on without the spouse they had always known, through good times and bad, sickness and health; this is the way life is supposed to play out.
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However, we are left shaking our heads when a family-man (or woman) feels there is no way out other than to violently take their loved one’s life and then their own; they do not leave this earth a loving spouse, but a murderer and their loving spouse becomes a heartbreaking statistic.
We live in a world where we no longer “warehouse” our elderly in dingy, poorly lit old-folk homes; rather, some assisted living homes are like the Palace of Versailles with chef-prepared meals and daily activities to keep elderly folks connected, healthy and happy.
It is unfortunate, but some people simply would rather, or are forced to, stay in their homes rather than choose assisted-living and that puts them at higher risk when health failures occur along with the isolation of living alone.
“They seemed so happy and well adjusted, they just adored each other,” is the refrain we often hear when tragedy occurs.
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Virtually everyone has elderly neighbors and some of them may have children that live far away. The isolation, combined with feelings of futility can lead someone not thinking clearly to come to the conclusion that there is no other option than violence.
Everyone should make it a point to connect with those neighbors. Strike up a conversation at the mailbox, invite them over for tea or a nice dinner and, if nothing else, let them know that their neighbors are there for them, should they need help.
There is really very little society can do when drug abuse takes over a person’s life and causes them to resort to such violence, however, elderly murder-suicide is something that society can curb by simply showing compassion and care to the people living in our midst.
