Intensely Intensifying Bloodbath

Morgantown, West Virginia, is a college town in Monongalia County, built around West Virginia University, and the Balatti family lived on an isolated hilltop outside it. this part of the story is covered for now He had grown up at University Avenue, and at 13 he made the newspaper for shooting his first deer near Browns Chapel after running home from school when his father failed to collect him. He married Carolyn Sue Lakatos in 1964. They had two daughters, Andrea Joe, 16, and Francy, 14. details of the account remain covered until revealed

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Rifles were stacked by windows, gas masks hung on pegs, and he spoke about invasions from above and below and about aliens coming to kill his family. He smoked marijuana daily and was taking amphetamines prescribed for weight loss. In the three days before 8 October 1982 he had not slept.

On 8 October 1982 he collected Carolyn from the greenhouse. Janet Hertig, who worked there, thought he seemed grumpy because he did not say hello. At home he and Carolyn rolled a joint and sat on the porch. this part of the story is covered for now Carolyn suggested they go up to the second-floor deck for air. details of the account remain covered until revealed When he came round the second time he described himself as in a frenzy. He picked up a .45 handgun, then put it down and took a 12-gauge shotgun.

Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. he backed Carolyn and Andrea against the upstairs hallway wall and shot them each twice. Francy ran down the hallway and he shot her once in the back. He then went into the bedroom, put the shotgun to his head and fired. He believed he was dead. He woke the next morning covered in blood, with a severe headache and blind in his right eye.

His first call was not to police or an ambulance. He telephoned his cousin Rose Balatti, who telephoned their cousin Samuel James 'Jim' Balatti. 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 the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it You'd better send somebody out there right away.' He repeated that his wife and daughters were dead. Police went to the house and found the three bodies. 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 His only defence was insanity, and three psychiatrists examined him. Dr Melinda Mullens, who saw him first while he recovered from surgery, found he did not remember the shooting and raised atypical paranoid disorder, schizo-affective disorder and organic delusional syndrome. this part of the story is covered for now Dr Wilbersign, appointed by the state, met him five times and concluded that he was in an acute psychotic state when he fired, with paranoia brought on by drugs and lack of sleep. details of the account remain covered until revealed All three agreed he did not appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts, though their diagnoses differed. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

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There was a second fight over his property. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Carolyn's parents, Andrew and Virginia Lacatos, sued for partition of the three parcels. The lower court ordered one parcel sold at auction and refused partition of the two joint-tenancy parcels, but the state supreme court reversed that, holding that Carolyn's parents owned the whole property. Rose got nothing.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it A petition had to be filed within eight months, and a five-judge panel decided whether to hear it after oral argument limited to ten minutes. this part of the story is covered for now His first attempt was rejected three votes to two in 1985. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He was buried under a headstone with praying hands.