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Police are investigating a double suicide murder in an area north-east of Northfield in rural Boone County near Zionsville.
Jenna Watson, [email protected]
An unfathomable tragedy unfolded on Friday morning after Stephanie Reece received a phone call from schools in Zionsville. His two children were absent from school.
Reece and her ex-husband, Michael Hunn, shared custody of their two children, Harrison, 15, and Shelby, 13. This week was a regular visit with their father.
Reece called Hunn and her children, but no one answered, so she went to Hunn's home on County Road 900 East, an area north-east of Northfield, in the rural county of Boone. When no one answered the door, she called 911.
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Boone County sheriff's deputies arrived and entered the house. Inside, they found Hunn, 50, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The two children had also been killed, probably shot while sleeping in their room.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen described this sequence of events at a press conference held Friday afternoon as a result of what the authorities consider to be a double murder suicide.
The children were students from Zionsville Community Schools, Zionsville Community High School and Shelby at Zionsville College.
Nielsen said the investigation is ongoing and that they do not know any reason yet.
The documents obtained by IndyStar show that Reece and Hunn had been married for about 17 years, before divorcing in November 2017. Nielsen did not qualify their divorce as a litigation, although court documents show persistent problems between them after the divorce. deposit of the transaction.
Reece had been concerned about Hunn's behavior around children and asked that his time with them be reduced and possibly monitored with a blood alcohol monitoring device, according to a petition filed in December in the County Superior Court from Boone.
The petition states that the children told their grandmother that their father had been drinking and that he was unable to take care of them or to lead them to events. As a result, the children had to be removed from the house, says the document.
A mediation agreement tabled in April suggests that Reece and Hunn have solved the problems. The document states that Hunn agreed to use a mobile breathalyzer system and to ensure that the results were immediately sent to Reece for a period of 120 days. He also agreed to pay a weekly alimony, says the document.
But the legal battle has continued throughout the summer, the documents show.
The scene where police investigate the death of a father and two children as a double murder-suicide in an area northeast of Northfield, in rural Boone County, near Zionsville, in the United States. Indiana, September 21, 2018. To contact the children, police found Michael Hunn, 50, and Zionsville students, Harrison Hunn, 15, and Shelby Hunn, 13, who had died in Michael's house to 11 am Friday. (Photo: Jenna_Watson / Indy_Star)
In July, Reece's lawyer sent an email to Hunn's lawyer about pending child support payments, according to documents filed a month earlier. Another email stated that Mr. Hunn had not yet paid the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Toll Ticket that he had agreed to pay in April. MTA is a New York-based public transportation agency serving New York, Long Island and Connecticut.
On August 7, Reece filed a motion for Hunn to be found in contempt of court for failing to pay child support, extracurricular expenses, and the MTA's toll ticket, according to the documents. The petition was for a hearing. This hearing was scheduled for next week.
Earlier this month, Mr. Hunn's lawyer filed a motion to stand down at the September 28 hearing due to an "irremediable break in communication."
Sheriff Nielsen said on Friday that he was not aware of any violent activity on the part of Hunn in the past.
Stephanie Reece is a member of Indiana University's Hall of Fame Athletics at Tennis. She is the girls tennis coach at Zionsville High.
"Our entire school community laments the loss of two students as a result of a tragedy at home," Zionsville Community Schools Superintendent Scott Robison said Friday to parents.
The counselors were made available on Friday and will be available again Monday for students from both schools, said Robison.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the children whose lives have been lost and we ask you to join us to respect their family time."
Mark Alesia and Ethan May contributed to this report.
Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.
Call the IndyStar Crystal Hill reporter at 317-444-6094. Follow her on Twitter: @crysnhill.
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