3 found dead in League City (TX)

Man kills his father and stepmother, then himself May 13, 2009

Original: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6423197.html

Police investigating killings; two others in house at time

By HARVEY RICE Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

May 14, 2009, 8:41PM

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LEAGUE CITY — Police and relatives are puzzled over how a discussion about family finances led a League City man to shoot his father and stepmother before turning a .38-caliber pistol on himself.

Lewis Edward Cantrell III, 26, was having a discussion about his finances in the living room with his father, Lewis Edward Cantrell II, and his stepmother, Gayle Mardis Cantrell, shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday when shots rang out.

The younger Cantrell’s 18-year-old brother and his 30-year-old stepsister were in separate bedrooms next to the living room, League City police spokesman Sgt. John Jordan said.

The 18-year-old was asleep, but the stepsister was listening as her parents calmly discussed a financial strategy for their son.

Cantrell III did not live at home but didn’t have a steady job.

“They were kind of counseling him on how to better save money and handle his finances,” Jordan said. “They were just talking, not arguing about it.”

Cantrell III, who has no history of violence, shot his parents dead during the discussion, Jordan said. He walked outside, then returned to the living room and shot himself.

The shots woke his brother, who fled with his sister down a corridor to a door that led outside and bypassed the living room, Jordan said.

The siblings had no idea that their brother was on the verge of violence. “They were dumbfounded,” Jordan said.

“They didn’t indicate there had been any family problems,” he said.

One of the siblings called 911 at 7:50 p.m. and a police SWAT team arrived at the residence in the 2900 block of Chinaberry Park Lane. The SWAT team found the bodies in the living room.

Jordan said investigators were trying to determine how the younger Cantrell got the gun. He pointed out that it’s not necessary in Texas to have a permit to carry a gun in a car or keep it at home.

harvey.rice@chron.com