A Hillsborough County sheriffs deputy killed his wife, daughter and granddaughter early Wednesday morning, then confessed to their murders over his agency radio before killing himself.
Terry L. Strawn, 58, a Sheriffs Office veteran who was once named Officer of the Year, used his service handgun to kill his family at two locations in east Hillsborough County. Three deputies encountered him near Plant City High School and tried to talk him down before he died by suicide.
He indicated he was losing everything, said Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister. Im saddened. But Im also disheartened that a sheriffs deputy would ever cause harm to another individual.
The victims were identified as the deputys wife, Theresa Strawn, 54; daughter, Courtney, 32; and his 6-year-old granddaughter, Londyn, who was Courtney Strawns daughter. The youngest casualty was a student at Valrico Elementary School, where Strawn worked as a school resource officer.
Sheriffs officials learned of the carnage at 6:42 a.m., when Strawn started speaking over a sheriffs radio frequency. He announced he had "emergency traffic," then said he had killed three family members and gave directions to the two locations where they could be found, the sheriff said. The deputy said he planned to kill himself at Plant City High, which is near one of the murder scenes.
A communications supervisor tried to talk him out of it. A short time later, deputies found Strawn just east of the school. They pleaded with him not to hurt himself.
At one point he said he had to go, he wanted to be with his family, Chronister said.
No students or school staff were in the area, officials said, when the deputy killed himself.
Detectives and forensic technicians combed through three crime scenes Wednesday afternoon: An area just outside the Plant City High campus, Courtney Strawns duplex near the school and the deputys home in a gated community at 1512 Emerald Hill Way in Valrico.
During his radio transmission, he talked about how much he loved the Sheriffs Office, Chronister said.
Terry Strawn also spoke of coping with financial and health problems, the sheriff said, but no financial concerns surfaced during his recent pre-employment background check when the retired deputy returned to duty this past summer.
In 2011, the deputy and his wife filed for bankruptcy protection in federal court. In a petition, they estimated their assets at less than $50,000 with liabilities greater than that. Among the assets, they listed a Jeep, two trucks, a boat, and a 9mm Smith & Wesson firearm. But court records show they qualified for a mortgage and bought a house earlier this year.