Las Vegas cites economy in murder-suicide spike

Monday, 30 August 2010 01:27

Written by Bailout Main Street Now

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say murder-suicides are on the rise in the Las Vegas area because of a bad economy.

Las Vegas police say there were five murder-suicides from Aug. 7 to Aug. 20 for a total of 10 victims.
A gun was used in each case. In four of the five cases, the shooter was a man. In one instance, a housekeeper found Donald and Barbara Romano, both 74, dead at their million-dollar Summerlin home. The couple, heavily involved in the real estate business, had been financially crippled by the recession.

In another case, a bystander was wounded.

The numbers of murder-suicides are apparently up, but no law enforcement agency keeps track of them. The FBI tracks homicides and health agencies track suicides, but nobody puts the numbers together.


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