Ohio mom Darlene Flores and her two teen sons Rodrigo, 16, and Eric Johnson Jr, 19, found dead after murder-suicide
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
CINCINNATI, OHIO: A family suffered from murder-suicide twice within a year after three bodies were found in a home by Cincinnati police. In this double homicide and a suicide case, the Hamilton County Coroner's Office confirmed that Darlene Flores, 38, and her 16-year-old son Rodrigo Johnson's death were homicides, and her oldest son Eric Johnson Jr, 19, was an apparent suicide, determined by the investigators. The department posted on its official social media account on Friday, after responding to a 911 call at a residence and it recovered "three unresponsive victims, each suffering from a gunshot wound."
Six months ago, Darlene’s estranged husband killed their daughter in a murder-suicide, as per media reports. A relative of the family formed GoFundMe Account to raise money for their funerals and also shared how the tragic event unfolded. "Our oldest grandson sadly took the lives of his mother and brother and then took his own life. This Johnson/Flores family now rests in peace and will be deeply missed by all," as per the account.
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What did Eric Johnson do?
Robert Davis, a family friend also mourned the untimely deaths, "They raised us. Miss Darlene, was very sweet, like another mother. Took us in. Anything that we needed or asked for, they always gave it to us." He also told WLWT, "And they taught us life lessons and stuff. In August 2022, Eric Johnson, 40, was asked to return his 6-year-old daughter, Lyla, back to her mother in an attempt to resolve a custody issue. However, after an hours-long standoff, police found Eric and Lyla dead bodies from gunshot wounds, reports Cincinnati Enquirer.
'That pain is still with those people'
Friends of 19-year-old Eric, who shot his mother and younger brother, before killing himself said he suffered immensely from the murder-suicide of August. "Deep down. I mean, losing your little sister, you know what I'm sayin'? Especially a 6-year-old sister and that was like the closest, he loved her more than anything, like...," said Timyone Andrew, 18. He added after a long breath, "Losin' her, it destroyed my boy deep down."
His friends said that they used to meet Eric daily and never expected this outcome. Before adding that all can learn from this tragic incident, "Check on those people. Cause when you know somebody's hurtin', you know after a while people start to forget but that pain is still with those people,“ said Andrew.
