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Iraq Vet Kills Family, Himself

Matthew Magdzas left no note

By Sarah Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2010 9:54 AM CDT
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(Newser) – An Iraq war veteran killed his pregnant wife and young daughter before turning the gun on himself, and police are having a tough time figuring out why. The bodies of Matthew Magdzas, 23, April Oles-Magdzas, 26, and 13-month-old Lila, along with their three dogs, were found Wednesday—the day April was set to give birth to the couple's second daughter—in the family's home in Superior, Wis., but Magdzas left no clues to explain his actions, the AP reports. "Unfortunately, sometimes in these things, if they don't leave a note, we don't definitely have a why," a local police captain said.

Investigators say they have found no signs of domestic trouble or unusual stress, but a sibling of Magdzas' wife told the Duluth News Tribune that Oles-Magdzas and her daughter had been staying with a relative for weeks. "She wasn’t living with him at the time," the sibling said. "They had had some kind of problem but I could see they were…trying to work it out." Magdzas enlisted in the National Guard in 2004 and was deployed to Iraq in 2006. He returned in 2007 and had been working as a firearms instructor.

Pfc. Matthew Magdzas poses for a picture in 2007.
Pfc. Matthew Magdzas poses for a picture in 2007.   (AP Photo /Courtesy of the Superior Telegram, Jed Carlson)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 62 comments
Funkdubulum
Oct 9, 2010 7:10 PM CDT
US Government: "Thank you warrior for being a patsy in our phony war. Welcome home ...to no jobs, a missing middle class, and a bleak future." Soldier: (Blammity Blam)
Infidel72
Aug 22, 2010 7:21 AM CDT
I'm an Iraq war veteran & a gun owner. I didn't kill anyone today. Hundreds of thousands of other Iraq war veterans didn't either. While the story here is tragic & depressing, the numbskulls who express their opinions on why this tragedy happend via internet are hilarious. Hilarious in their stupidity. PTSD? Really? Did you dumbasses come up with that all by yourselves?
Illuminated_One
Aug 21, 2010 5:27 PM CDT
F*ck Billy Graham's son and his "belief" that Obama is Muslim. He still believes in superstition (organized religion) anyway. what, just because he is a "prominent" Christian his voice is supposed to carry extra weight. B*llsh*t!!!

 
National Guard • murder • murder-suicide • Minnesota • Iraq veterans • Iraq war • Matthew Magdzas • April Oles-Magdzas

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