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Simon J. GONZALES
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Parricide
Number of victims:3
Date of murders: June 23,
1999
Date of birth:1969
Victims profile:Rebecca,
10, Katheryn, 8, and Leslie, 7(his three daughters)
Method of murder: Shooting
(9mm Taurus pistol)
Location: Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
Status:
Killed in a
shootout with officers the same day
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A man was killed in a
shootout with officers after driving up to the police station and
opening fire early Wednesday. His three daughters were found dead
in his bullet-riddled pickup truck.
An initial investigation concluded Simon J. Gonzales
shot the girls before driving to the police station, said Michael Knight,
a spokesman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
"It appears the children were dead when they arrived
at the police department," Knight said. "The preliminary investigation
does not indicate any of the officers' bullets struck the children."
Gonzales' wife had contacted police hours earlier
because she was concerned about the safety of the girls, Police Chief
Tony Lane said. She also said Gonzales, 30, had suicidal tendencies.
Lane would not elaborate.
Authorities identified Gonzales' children as Rebecca,
10, Katheryn, 8, and Leslie, 7.
Mike Carter, a neighbor and family friend, said
Gonzales and his wife began having marital problems earlier this year.
She obtained a court order May 21 to keep Gonzales
100 feet away from their home. Court records listed the reason as
domestic abuse. The two separated and she filed for divorce Dec. 29.
Simon J.
Gonzales
June 24, 1999
Colorado police killed Simon
J. Gonzales, 30, in a shootout after he apparently killed his three
young children and then started shooting up the police station. The
shootout happened about 3:25 a.m. when Gonzales, 30, drove up to the
station in a white pickup, got out and started firing into the one-story
brick building. Officers inside returned fire, fatally wounding
Gonzales.
Moments later they discovered the bodies of the three girls,
ages 7, 8 and 10, inside the cab of the pickup. Police said Gonzales'
estranged wife, whose name was not released, called police hours before
the shootout, concerned about the girls' safety. She mentioned that her
husband had suicidal tendencies.
Simon J.
Gonzales
Around 6 p.m. on the day of the murders Gonzales
called a gun dealer who had advertised a handgun in a newspaper for $375
dollars, said police. The background check took about one hour.
Simon Gonzales' wife had obtained a temporary
restraining order that required him to stay away from the family. But he
had not been served with the documentation, so that information did not
turn up in the required background check, the district attorney's office
said.
Bill Palsulich of Lakewood, a federally licensed gun
dealer, sold a 9mm Taurus pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition to Gonzales
for $375 about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday while Rebecca, Katheryn and Leslie
played in his front yard. Palsulich, who had advertised three pistols in
a newspaper ad, conducted a background check with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. After an initial rejection, Gonzales was cleared and the
gun changed hands.
"He followed all the expectations of his license,''
Knight said of Palsulich.
The FBI background check failed to pick up a temporary
restraining order issued against Gonzales.
Palsulich described Gonzales as a "quiet,
pleasant'' young man. Gonzales was not edgy or distraught, he said.
Gonzales said that he wanted the 9mm Taurus pistol so
he and his son could go target shooting together.
Simon J.
Gonzales
The Douglas County coroner examined the girls' bodies.
The wounds appeared to be from a 9mm handgun and did not match any of
the weapons used by officers who shot and killed Gonzales, 30, about
3:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Mike Knight, spokesman for the 18th Judicial
District Attorney's Office. Knight said the girls did not appear to
suffer any defensive wounds. The coroner was unable to determine the
exact time of death but narrowed it to between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 3
a.m. on Wednesday, shortly before their father drove up to the police
station and opened fire.
"We believe they were killed inside the truck,''
Knight said, adding that police suspect it was a suicidal Gonzales who
fired the shots that killed the three girls.
The bullets that killed the girls passed through the
cab of the truck, Knight said, but no bullets were found on the ground
or under the truck. That indicates the girls were killed before Gonzales
drove up to the station, he said.
Simon J.
Gonzales
Very early (about 3:25 a.m.) on the morning of June
23, 1999, a man (later identified as Simon Gonzales) pulled his white
pickup into the parking lot of Castle Rock police station, got out and
started firing into the one-story brick building. The shots shattered a
window and narrowly missed an officer on duty inside.
Officers returned fire, fatally wounding Gonzales, 30.
Obviously they were a little surprised by the mans
actions, but nothing could prepare them for what they found in his car.
They discovered the gunman's three daughters, Rebecca,
10; Katheryn, 8, and Leslie, 7, dead inside the bullet riddled truck.
Gonzales' estranged wife, whose name was not released,
had called police twice in the hours leading up to the shoot out,
concerned about the her daughters safety. She mentioned that they were
with her husband, and that he had suicidal tendencies. It didn't take
long to figure out who the kids were.
Mike Carter, a friend of the family, said that
Gonzales had picked up the children to take them to an amusement park,
but the wife was afraid he would not return them, according to an
account the wife gave to Carter's wife.
From what I have read it would seem most likely that
Simon took the kids somewhere quiet, stepped out of the car, then shot
the kids from outside the car. He then became pretty freaked out by what
he did, couldn't actually kill himself, so he went to the police station
and let them do it for him. It's not the first time that this has
happened and it definetly wont be the last.
Interesting Bits.
THE SHOOT OUT HAD WITNESSES
The shots fired into the station awakened two people
staying at a relative's house across the street.
"Four shots, real clear, four shots. Bang. Bang.
Bang. Bang,'' said Ellen Walls, 25, of Killeen, Texas.
Her husband, Justin Walls, 22, said they looked
outside and he saw an officer kneel down and order the gunman to drop
his weapon.
"At that point, the guy started shooting, and the
officer fired at him,'' Walls said.
