Filed under: Politics
Natasha Whyte-Dell, who was estranged from her abusive husband (pictured), was killed along with four of her seven children. Her husband shot her to death. Apparently, Whyte-Dell kept allowing her husband back into her life because she felt sorry for him.
The 36-year-old woman married Patrick Alexander Dell in 2006, and shortly thereafter, the honeymoon was over. Court records detail that there were restraining orders against Dell, citing abusive behavior. According to relatives, the out-of-control 41-year-old Riviera Beach, Fla., man had threatened Whyte-Dell several times, and she was afraid that he would kill her. One petition stated:
"I am really afraid for myself and my children. I do not know what my husband will do next."
Whyte-Dell even tried filing for divorce three times between 2007 and 2008, but, unfortunately, withdrew her petition each time. In December 2008, Dell attacked his wife with a knife, because he suspected her of cheating.
At one point, Whyte-Dell was outside of her home (pictured above) conversing with a friend, when her husband suddenly appeared brandishing a knife. He lunged at both women as they ran inside the home. According to a court affidavit, Dell then stood outside the door, screaming violent threats:
"Your family is going to cry today. You will be going to the morgue."
Dell took his anger out on his wife's driveway by scratching out a large "X" on it and then slashing the tires of her SUV.
Dell was arrested on felony aggravated assault charges but was convicted of misdemeanor improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, which is a lesser offense.
In May, Whyte-Dell pleaded with a judge to protect her, informing him about the knife incident and the fact that her husband had let it be known in the neighborhood that he was looking to buy a gun. The terrified woman also told the judge that her husband had been living out of his car, which was parked right outside of her home. She was granted an injunction 10 days later.
Dell's increasingly violent behavior and death threats culminated on Monday in the wee hours of the morning: He allegedly had been drinking at a local restaurant, when one neighbor later told police that he overheard Dell say he was going to kill his family. At around 2 a.m., the enraged man broke into his wife's home and started shooting. He managed to shoot and kill his wife and stepchildren (Daniel Barnett, 10; Jevon Nelson, 11; Diane Barnett, 13; and Bryan Barnett, 14). He wounded 15-year-old Ryan Barnett, who received a gun shot to the neck. Ryan was said to have always stood up to Dell in the past, after Dell threatened his mother in front of him. The boy is listed in critical but stable condition at a nearby hospital.
Dell's children, 3-year-old Latasha Precious Dell and 1-year-old Patrick Alexander Dell Jr., were staying with Whyte-Dell's sister when the incident occurred.
As a police car approached the scene of the massacre, Dell walked outside, stood before the armed men (and without any fanfare) shot himself in the head.
The case is the worst murder-suicide in Palm Beach County's history. Ironically, the Whyte-Dell home was located directly across the street from a cemetery.