The Wacky World Of Murder: Simon J. Gonzales




Simon J. Gonzales	VICTIMS: 3
The Setting: CASTLE ROCK, Colorado 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 definitely 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Gonzales's were married in 1990, separating last year, according to court documents. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In an application for a restraining order filed last month, Mrs. Gonzales said her husband tried hang himself in front of children. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gonzales had served in the Navy and received a monthly disability payment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
MY OPINION The most interesting thing about this story is that it is possible that police may have killed the kids. I know that the coroners report leads us to believe otherwise, but personally I don't believe everything that is published by the authorities. As for the actually 'kill the kids 'cos the wife won't take me back' style of murder, well that really sucks. It's not the kids fault, so why these guys feel the need to take them with them is beyond me. just kill the bitch that causes the problem, then kill yourself. It can't get any easier than that. Especially in a country where you can just reply to a newspaper ad and get a gun in less than an hour.