Six Unthinkable Things

Norwalk, Iowa, is a small city in Warren County, in the south-central part of the state and about twenty minutes from Des Moines. At the time of the story it had a population of 10,135, and it presented itself as an ordinary, family-minded Midwestern town. this part of the story is covered for now They had four children: Brian, born in 1975; Nikki; Jessica, born in 1981 or 1982; and Eric, in late 1984. Brian and Jessica were described as mentally disabled and were in special education.

details of the account remain covered until revealed From 1977 he was in regular psychotherapy for anger and violent impulses, and the marriage had difficulties from early on. In 1990 Eric, then six, was killed in a bicycle accident. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Taylor reported no evidence of a psychiatric disorder and recommended reinstatement. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it On 21 May 1991 he was placed on probation for a domestic assault on Jolene.

In early 1992 Jolene obtained a restraining order, separated from him and filed for divorce. this part of the story is covered for now He followed her and the children, sat outside the house and monitored their movements. details of the account remain covered until revealed In December he was made to see a psychologist, who found him chronically depressed. In January 1993 he began telephoning Jolene's sister-in-law Diana Reinhardt every day. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it In March Jolene's brother John heard him say during an argument, 'You are bringing this all on yourself. If you don't quit, I will kill you and the others.' That same month he told one of Jessica's former teachers that he would kill Jolene and the children before he would allow a divorce.

By then he had stopped driving the school bus and was working as a custodian at Drake University. this part of the story is covered for now In May he completed a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as part of the divorce and custody proceedings. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now

Jolene had begun seeing Mark Napodano, who managed a power tool service centre in Des Moines and had recently divorced. His daughters, Martina, nine, and Helen, seven, were visiting from West Chicago, where they attended Gary Elementary School and sang in the choir at Bethany Lutheran Church of Batavia. On Sunday 13 June 1993 Mark left the girls with Jolene and drove to Des Moines for an early appointment the next morning.

On Monday 14 June Jolene failed to keep an appointment and could not be reached. At about 12.30 p.m. her brother Kevin Reinhardt went to the house with a neighbour named Wyman and one of Wyman's sons. Kevin climbed through a window, looked inside, pushed the boy back out and told him to call 911. Police found Jolene, Brian, Nikki and Jessica lying side by side in the master bed under a blanket. Jolene and Brian had been shot, Nikki strangled and Jessica suffocated. In a downstairs bedroom were Martina and Helen Napodano, both shot, also side by side beneath a blanket. details of the account remain covered until revealed He was alive.

Two apparent suicide notes were recovered, one in the room he rented and one at the house; handwriting experts said both were his. They referred repeatedly to Eric and to the family being together, apologised, and asked God to forgive him for the deaths of the two little girls. The second note ended with a list of people to contact. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now The psychiatric opinions were divided. Dr William Robert McMordy, a clinical neuropsychologist, found him competent and saw no basis for an insanity defence. Dr Lauren Olson, a psychiatrist, thought it impossible to determine his state at the time. Dr Mark Sausa found him aware of his circumstances. Dr William Logan, a forensic psychiatrist, concluded that a major depressive disorder with psychotic features had prevented him from knowing right from wrong, and that he was not competent. The state's Dr Michael Taylor found no mental disease or defect and did not believe the amnesia was genuine. details of the account remain covered until revealed

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The defence argued that Kevin Reinhardt, Mark Napodano or someone else had committed the murders, pointing to the absence of blood in Jessica's hair, an unidentified blood type near the upstairs bathroom, the lack of a blood trail and evidence of gloves and cleaning. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

The house was sold in 1996 for $58,500; the new owner, Selena Airs, found dried blood in a closet. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now