Marissa Leara Rowell,Sandra Gayle Fogarty Obituary, Death; – A 5-year-old girl, covered in blood, fled to seek assistance after witnessing her father murder her mother, aunt, and grandmother before turning the gun on himself in a tragic murder-suicide at their residence in Florida, as reported by authorities and various news outlets.
On the evening of July 24, deputies discovered the three deceased women along with the critically injured shooter, identified as 34-year-old Christopher Bobby Rowell, at a home in Hilliard, according to Nassau County officials.
The victims were later named as the girl’s loving mother, Marissa Leara Rowell, aged 32; her grandmother, Sandra Gayle Fogarty, aged 71; and her aunt, Alisha Lael Fogarty, aged 33, as stated in a GoFundMe campaign established for the bereaved family. Authorities were notified of this horrifying crime when Marissa Rowell’s 5-year-old daughter sought help from a neighbor after witnessing the brutal attack on her family, police reported.
“The child mentioned that she was in the back of the house and heard a gunshot,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper remarked during a press conference following the incident. Authorities were alerted to this stomach-churning crime when Marissa Rowell’s 5-year-old daughter ran to a neighbor’s house for help after she witnessed her family being slaughtered, police stated.
“The child said she was in the back of the house, heard a gunshot,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper reiterated in a news conference after the event. “I was at work listening to the radio and I had heard the shooter’s name, and as soon as I heard his name, my heart just skipped; I knew instantly,” Hallmark recounted to the media.
“My aunt had just purchased a house, and they were in the process of moving. Marissa was planning to leave him and take the child with her,” he added. The violent husband was still alive with a faint pulse when authorities arrived, but he later succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the hospital, according to police. He was found lying next to an SKS-style rifle, as reported by News4Jax.
When police arrived, the front door was unlocked, and one woman’s body was discovered on the floor between the living room and dining room in a gruesome scene.
“The family we lost were cherished individuals who brought joy and love to everyone around them,” relatives of the three women wrote in a fundraiser statement.
“We lost a devoted mother (Marissa Leara Rowell), who was a guiding light for her five-year-old daughter, a loving first-time grandmother (Sandra Gayle Fogarty) who waited her whole life to have a granddaughter in her life, and a devoted aunt (Alisha Lael Fogarty) who was crazy for her niece and loved spending hours playing games with her and being by her side like a sister,” the statement wrote.
“This child now faces a future without the warmth and loving support of her family, and we are committed to ensuring she receives the care and love she needs to heal from this traumatic incident,” the heartbroken family said.
A GoFundMe to support cremation expenses has raised over $8,000 of its $15,000 goal.
