Who was Molly Lillard? New York Jets star Al Toon's daughter shot dead by husband in suspected murder-suicide
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: The daughter of New York Jets star Albert Lee Toon Jr (aka Al Toon), was shot dead by her husband on Sunday at her Arizona house in what seems to be a murder-suicide, a report stated.
Police said Lillard’s husband, 36-year-old Royce Lillard III, shot his wife first and then turned the gun on himself at their Scottsdale house. The couple’s 8-month-old child was present at the time and was not injured, police said, according to the New York Post.
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Who was Molly Lillard?
Molly Elizabeth Toon Lillard is the daughter of former professional US football wide receiver Al Toon, who played for the Jets of the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. She is the child of Al Toon and his wife Jane. She has two sisters Kirby and Sydney and a brother, Nick. Her parents now own and run an online retail sales business along with a focus on real estate ownership and management.
Lillard was a final 4 participant while playing volleyball at the University of Michigan and is now working for Aerotek in Arizona. The 2010 Middleton graduate, was a volleyball standout and was a four-year varsity girls volleyball player, a two-time team captain, and a two-time All-Big Eight Conference selection. She not once but twice led her team (2008 and 2009) to state prior to playing at Michigan, reported Madison.com. She also was a two-time second-team All-State player in high school, according to her Michigan bio, the report stated.
“I coached her prior to high school in a club season and then four years in high school,” said Franco Marcos, her girls volleyball coach at Middleton, in a phone interview with the State Journal ln Monday night. “Knowing the family and Al, it’s really hard to hear a story like that. … It’s sad. I really don’t know what to say. It’s such a tragic loss and the way it happened.”
The Scottsdale Police Department responded to a shooting in east Scottsdale at around 5 pm on Sunday and found a woman with gunshot wounds in front of a house. The woman was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries. Police said Royce Lillard III, the shooter and husband to Lillard, barricaded himself in his house and was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. The SWAT team, which went inside the home at around 10:45 pm on Sunday, found him dead. Their infant child has been placed under the care of family.