Nova Scotia murder-suicides: ‘We can’t ignore the role of family violence here’
HALIFAX — A week after a former soldier suffering from PTSD killed his wife, daughter and mother before killing himself, a difficult and complex debate has emerged in Nova Scotia about the role of domestic violence in the tragedy.
RCMP have confirmed Lionel Desmond shot his wife Shanna, their 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah and his mother Brenda before turning the gun on himself in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S.
The four bodies were discovered in the family home last Tuesday, and separate funerals are planned for this week in nearby Tracadie, with Lionel and Brenda Desmond’s on Wednesday and Shanna and Aaliyah Desmond’s on Thursday.
Family members say Lionel Desmond, 33, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in Afghanistan in 2007, and had received treatment from the military. But relatives have also suggested the former infantryman did not get the help he needed when he returned to Nova Scotia 18 months ago, despite his family’s best efforts to seek medical care.