Man Strangles Girlfriend To Death In Front Of Victim's Two Minor Daughters

A man has been charged with first- and third-degree murder after he allegedly brutally thrashed and strangled his girlfriend to death in front of her two minor daughters in Bucks County, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

Thadius McGrath, 35, faces first- and third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person, and possession of an instrument of crime raps as of Tuesday, June 28, after he admitted to killing his 31-year-old girlfriend, Samantha Rementer, in their home in Bucks County in front of the woman's minor children on June 8. After the murder, McGrath, who claimed that he killed Rementer because she made him upset, tried to kill himself by shooting himself in the face, New York Post reported.

The heinous incident came to light after McGrath’s mother dialed 911 after receiving a “possibly suicidal” call from him. When officers responded to the scene, Rementer's 5-year-old daughter opened the door covered in blood. Her 2-year-old younger sister was found sitting in a high chair inside the home.

“(McGrath) killed mommy because she was annoying him and then (McGrath) shot himself accidentally,” the elder daughter told the police.

McGrath was reportedly found lying in one of the bedrooms with a gunshot wound to his face and a 9mm pistol at his side. He was rushed to Philadelphia’s Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where medical staff determined that he had shot himself in the face, Law & Crime reported.

Meanwhile, Rementer was found in the bedroom with blunt force trauma to her face and a lamp cord still wrapped around her neck. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

After the police questioned McGrath, he allegedly confessed to the crime and said that he attacked Rementer because she made him upset. He told the officers that he hit Rementer with a black step ladder and a lamp in her daughters’ bedroom in front of Rementer’s children, aged 5 and 2. After thrashing her, he then allegedly strangled her with the lamp cord until she turned “purple.”

“Please stop. Please stop. You are killing my mom,” Rementer’s elder daughter begged him at the time.

After strangling Rementer to death, McGrath shot himself in the head in an attempt to commit suicide.

“This man murdered Ms. Rementer in front of her children, then unsuccessfully tried to take his own life,” Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.

The little girls have since been placed in the custody of Samantha Rementer’s father, Bill Rementer.

McGrath was arraigned this week before Magisterial District Judge Leonard Brown and is currently being detained in the Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail.