New York dad shoots 14-year-old honor roll daughter, turns gun on himself

An upstate New York dad allegedly shot lifeless his 14-year-old honor roll daughter sooner than turning the gun on himself — after he suggested his estranged partner in a chilling phone identify: “This is how it ends for us.”

Ava Wood, a ninth-grader at Durgee Junior High School in Baldwinsville, was present in her mattress Friday with a bullet wound to the top after her mother, Heather Wood, suggested police she did not level out up for varsity, The Post-Standard of Syracuse reported.

Her father, Christopher Wood, 51, was found lifeless of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a single different mattress room on the 6 Triangle Place dwelling, the place police recovered a shotgun, in response to the outlet.

On Thursday night time time, Christopher known as Heather and suggested her, “This is how it ends for us,” in response to CNY Central, which cited an Onondaga County  911 dispatcher who described what the estranged partner reported.

Heather moreover reportedly suggested the dispatcher that Christopher had been depressed simply these days.

“It’s difficult, to say the least, it’s not an easy scene for either of us to witness, both the sheriff and I have been in law enforcement for a long time and to have to walk through a scene like that is not an easy thing to do,” Baldwinsville Police Chief Michael Lefancheck, referring to county Sheriff Toby Shelley.

Two days earlier, Christopher moreover despatched Heather a sequence of harassing textual content material messages. In March 2022, he was involved in a stalking incident in opposition to her, The Post-Standard reported.

The couple had been nonetheless married nonetheless had been separated and didn’t keep collectively, Lefancheck acknowledged. Ava had primarily lived alongside along with her dad, he added.

“It is with great sadness and a very heavy heart that I inform you of the tragic loss of Durgee Jr. High School 9th grade student Ava Wood,” the Baldwinsville college district acknowledged in an e-mail to parents.

“We are a close-knit school community and our hearts are broken by this tragedy. Our thoughts are with Ava’s family and friends during this extremely difficult time,” it added.

At college, Ava was involved in observe and self-discipline and carried out junior varsity soccer, in response to The Post-Standard.

On Sunday night time time, Ava’s associates, classmates and teammates packed St. Mary’s Church for a prayer service and candlelight vigil for the tragic woman.

Her soccer teammates, who wore their crew jerseys, described Ava, an honor roll scholar, as a fun-loving woman who might very properly be aggressive on and off the sphere nonetheless on a regular basis revered all people.

“Every time we’d see each other, we’d always catch up with each other’s lives,” one classmate acknowledged, the outlet reported. “I was always looking forward to seeing here.”

The Rev. Clifford Auth, pastor of St. Mary’s, acknowledged Ava “was someone that we all can learn from. In a world that sometimes celebrates disappointment and discord, she was the person that gave tremendous hope.”

Ava’s observe coach, Tiffany Stubbmann, suggested The Post-Standard that she was shocked that the quickest woman on the crew didn’t enroll closing spring.

Heather known as to elucidate that her daughter had merely forgotten the deadline.

“I was so relieved. I completely counted on Ava. If I said, ‘Ava do this,’ she’d do it. She was self-directed, had drive and an unprecedented work ethic. And she was fast,” Stubbmann suggested The Post-Standard.

“She’s one of those special students that reminds you why you love coaching,” she acknowledged. “She was a leader, a serious competitor and all-around athlete.”

Classmate and shut pal Emily Calkins and Ava sat all through from each other at lunch every day.

“She would always give me her Welch gummies,” Emily suggested the outlet in a written observe on account of she was too overcome with grief to talk.

She acknowledged Ava suggested her how quite a bit she beloved her dad and that she was attempting forward to starting a family in some unspecified time in the future.

Ava wanted children so she would possibly “spoil them and love them endlessly,” Emily added.

In an e-mail to parents Friday, Principal T.J. Fraher recommended the students for his or her “kindness and willingness to support one another during this tough time.”

On Saturday, Heather issued an announcement thanking the neighborhood for its assist amid the tragedy.

“We want to begin by expressing our gratitude for the outpouring of love that we’ve received in the last 24 hours—it is the love and support from our community that will sustain us in the coming days,” she acknowledged.

“To Ava’s friends, classmates, and teammates: please continue sharing photos and tributes to Ava. She loved each and every one of you, and we are grateful for the love you have shown her and our family,” the devastated mother acknowledged, together with that the family “must plan for celebrating Ava’s life and laying her to rest.”