A Day With Debbie

This happened over the weekend on the street where I was raised for the first 6yrs of my life--only a mile from where my mother lives now...so sad and senseless!





Tuesday
June 3, 2008
Serving the
Texas Hill Country
since 1910


Ingram shooter had history of abusing

By Alyson Chapman
The Daily Times

Published June 3, 2008

INGRAM — Investigators confirmed Monday that John David Young, 38, shot and killed his wife, two sons and mother-in-law early Sunday morning in their Ingram home before turning the gun on himself.

His motive remains unknown, but his criminal record from Colorado reveals three arrests for domestic violence from 1993 through 1995.

John Young had no criminal record in Texas, and local authorities had no contact with the family until Sunday.

What happened

John Young shot his sons, Jonathan Young, 9, and Mason Young, 6; his wife, Starr Ann Young, 42; and mother-in-law, Linda Dale Hughes, 64, in a mobile home in the 100 block of Third Street in Ingram.

“There’s no additional shooter or anything,” said Ingram City Marshal Rowan Zachry. “We are following up with co-workers and friends, trying to find out what happened the day prior to this.”

It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the incident, and toxicology reports will not be available for four to six weeks.

The 911 call

Hughes, Starr Young’s mother, placed the initial call to 911 at 2:19 a.m.

“In reviewing the tapes, we discovered some information on the tapes prior to the operator answering the call in which she reported her son-in-law was killing her family members, and she needed help,” Zachry said.

When a call is placed to 911, a recording begins as it is ringing, before an operator answers.

Zachry said John Young and seven shots from a 9 mm pistol can be heard on the recording.

“What we learned from the number of shots heard and evidence collected at the scene is it adds up,” he said. “I don’t believe we heard the first shot. I believe the first was before the call was initiated.”

Preliminary autopsy reports indicate Starr Young was the first family member shot, and she was shot once. Hughes was then shot twice before calling 911, and she was shot once after. The boys both were shot while in their beds, Jonathan Young twice and Mason Young once.

“This is a very sad situation. I hope I never have to listen to another (911) tape like this in my career,” Zachry said.

The scene

Officers kicked in the residence’s door to gain entry. Hughes was found alive, lying on the floor between the hallway and a bedroom when deputies arrived. She died en route to the hospital.

Starr Young was found dead in the hallway. John Young was in the back bedroom — the pistol lying near his body — with a single gunshot wound to the head.

The Young family lived in the trailer house on Third Street since June 2007 and resided just outside the Ingram city limits before that, Zachry said.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office is assisting with the investigation.

Who were Starr

and John Young?

Authorities have learned John Young was a new employee, still a trainee, at Mooney Airplane Co. He previously worked as an independent truck driver.

Starr Young, who was employed at Hilltop Nursing Home in Kerrville, also has a daughter, June, who is in her 20s. June is on her way to Texas from Colorado to make funeral arrangements for the family.

A 2007 graduate of Christian Women’s Job Corps of Kerr County, Starr Young was remembered by those who helped her achieve that goal.

“She had a great attitude and a wonderful work ethic and was generally very happy,” said Debbie Ridout, assistant director of CWJC of Kerr County. “Her faith grew while she was here, and she learned to trust God with all her needs. We all loved her.”

Ridout said Starr Young always focused on her family.

“She loved her family and talked about her kids all the time,” she said. “They were the center of her life.”

Any signs of distress at home were unnoticeable.

“At the time, her husband was driving a truck, so he wasn’t home much of the time, but she never complained about their relationship,” Ridout said.

CWJC board member Deana Blackburn said she remembers Starr Young as a hardworking lady.

“I think she worked full-time, as well as going to class for 12 weeks, and my memory is that she was one of the ones with perfect attendance,” she said. “I would have hired her in a heartbeat if I had been an employer — totally honest and focused.”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------