Memorial grows outside Winfield home where mother, 4 children were killed
By Kate Devine
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WINFIELD, Kan. (KAKE) — A makeshift memorial is growing outside a Winfield home where a mother and her four young children were killed in a murder-suicide Tuesday.
Flowers were left outside the home Tuesday evening, near children’s playthings that remained in the yard.
Neighbor Ann Stofferan lives three houses away and said learning children were among the victims was devastating.
“When I heard that it was children, my whole body just went cold, and I just got goosebumps because I just can’t fathom what’s going through somebody’s mind to take your whole family,” Stofferan said.
Stofferan said the children’s belongings outside the home now carry a different meaning.
“You see the little play things,” she said. “You would drive by and think, ‘Oh, that’s a happy house,’ but nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.”
Amber Crowley walked by the home with her own children after learning what happened. She said the ages of the victims hit especially close to home.
“I have a 10-year-old, so a year older than her, and then we have a 3-year-old stepson, and that’s just — it’s crazy,” Crowley said.
Crowley said seeing a tragedy like this unfold in her own community was difficult to comprehend.
“I mean, I’ve seen that stuff on TV,” Crowley said. “I’ve never seen this in person.”
When asked whether her family planned to leave flowers at the growing memorial, Crowley said yes.
Winfield Police Chief Robbie DeLong also spoke about the toll the scene has taken on the officers who responded. He said peer support personnel from across Kansas came to Winfield to help.
“I mean, obviously, this was, in my 20-plus years, one of the hardest things I’ve ever seen,” he said.
The KBI said the investigation remains ongoing as investigators work to determine a motive.
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