Police: Family kills man over child custody dispute
SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. — A woman and her family lured her estranged husband to their home by offering to let him see his children, then beat him in the head with a hammer and fatally shot him as he tried to run away — a scheme concocted because they were upset about a child custody dispute, according to police in South Carolina.
The wife's brother, Jacob Hughes, 29, started the plan in motion by inviting John Michael Ferrell, 51, for drinks at a bar Saturday night, and then offered to bring the man back to the house to see his children for the first time in a while, police said in news conference late Wednesday.
But not long after Ferrell entered the home, he was attacked with a hammer, police said. He tried to climb out a 6-foot high kitchen window, but either his pants snagged on a nail or people inside pulled them down trying to prevent him from escaping, police said.
"He was hindered by his pants that were down around his ankles, preventing him from fleeing, in addition to the trauma from being struck in the head multiple times with the hammer," said Keith Grounsell, police chief in Simpsonville, a suburb of about 20,000 people just south of Greenville.
John Hughes, the wife's father, then took aim with a .45-caliber handgun and fired at Ferrell, who was found dead 12 feet from the kitchen window, Grounsell said. Ferrell was hit five times, according to arrest warrants.
John Hughes, 57; his wife, Margaret Hughes, 55; their son, Jacob Hughes; their daughter and Ferrell's estranged wife, Jane Hughes, 33; and her boyfriend Andrew Martin, 37, are all charged with murder. The suspects had requested public attorneys, but they hadn't been assigned yet, police said Thursday.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/police-family-killed-man-over-child-custody-dispute/ar-AA8JFuM?ocid=iehp
Those poor kids have to grow up now knowing their whole loser family is in prison for killing their father because of a stupid custody dispute.
