'She was sick': Mother's defense of grandmother who 'shot dead her two young sons in murder-suicide' as it is revealed she suffered from mental health issues【US

A Connecticut grandmother who allegedly shot and killed her two young grandchildren before shooting herself also suffered from mental health problems, it was revealed today.

The body of 47-year-old Debra Denison was discovered alongside her grandchildren, brothers Ashton, six months, and two-year-old Alton Perry late last night. She was supposed to be taking them to their mother's for Alton's birthday party.

Denison's daughter, Brenda Perry, wrote on her Facebook page early today: 'Thank you for your prayers... My boys are in an amazing place, we've got a few great angels watching over us,' adding that 'my mom was sick.'

Earlier Tuesday, Denison had picked up the brothers from their daycare in Danielson and was supposed to take them to Alton's birthday party, where family members were waiting to celebrate.

 

Family members said that the boys’ maternal grandmother suffered from several mental health issues including depression, while other family members said she had bipolar disorder and split personalities.

Those who saw the grandmother at the daycare said she was friendly and talkative when she picked up her grandchildren, and added that she didn’t give any indication of something wrong, according to Nikki Salaun, director of the Kidds & Co. daycare center in North Stonington.

 

Ms Salaun and daycare center co-owner Christine Hare said the boys' mother worked at the daycare center herself a couple years and had mentioned that the grandmother had a history of mental health troubles.

 

They said they keep going over the pickup in their minds but there is nothing they could have done differently.

'Brenda obviously put her on the list thinking she would be okay,' Ms Hare told the Associated Press. 'We go with the parents. We can't override their wishes. Obviously if she had come here obviously distraught, we would have intervened.'

 

Police are officially calling this a murder-suicide after finding a suicide note left by Denison.

 

In her note, she said in part that God was watching over her own 13-year-old son, who was not hurt in Tuesday’s tragic events. However, the motive for the murder-suicide remains under investigation.

 

2013.2.28 Daily Mail