Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Wife, 5-Year-Old Daughter, Toddler Survives Apparent Murder-Suicide

A 29-year-old West Virginia man turned the gun on himself after killing his wife, 5-year-old daughter, and critically injuring his 17-month-old daughter.

On Monday, Aug. 23, deputies from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s office responded to a home in the Mink Shoals area after a 911 caller reported seeing multiple bodies inside the home.

Responding officers located Donald "DJ" Thomas, Jr., his wife, 24-year-old Alicia Thomas, and daughter Myra Thomas lying in a pool of blood inside the home on Monday afternoon.

All three of them were declared dead at the scene.

The toddler, Lona Thomas, was found under her mother’s dead body.

"It appears that the mother was trying to go toward the back door and the baby was in her arms and was partially under her body," Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said.

The child was apparently injured by bullet fragments. She was flown to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

'We understand they have removed a bullet from the child’s head," Rutherford said.

"The child has a pretty decent chance of surviving," Rutherford said on Tuesday’s MetroNews "Talkline".

Investigators confirmed that DJ was the shooter, as they located a magazine next to his body. However, they say that is subject to change, depending on further investigation.

Authorities say they were familiar with the shooter. They had received seven 911 calls from his home this year, including one that involved domestic violence, Rutherford said.

In 2018, DJ was arrested on a domestic battery charge for assaulting his wife and mother, Nancy Thomas, according to court records obtained by WCHS-TV.

In Feb. of this year, DJ was arrested on a domestic battery charge involving his wife, but the charge was dropped in June after she failed to appear in court, the outlet reported.

"It's terrible," Rutherford said. "I've been doing this for a long, long time, and it's absolutely terrible just to see what one person will do to another. But when you have children involved it makes it unbelievable."