At four years old, kids aren’t relied on to take care of themselves. At this stage, they barely know how the world works, let alone how to interact with it. One four-year-old is being hailed a hero after her actions in the face of unimaginable horror.
Domestic violence is a real issue.
It’s one of the most common 911 calls. Sometimes the complaint is for little more than a heated argument. Sometimes it’s for something far worse. Sometimes, the call never comes through at all.
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Let’s go to Chatsworth, California.
A district in the San Fernando Valley, Chatsworth is full of sprawling suburbs. It was in one of these suburbs that a family tragedy unfolded earlier this month.
A family of four lived on this street.
A husband and wife lived with their four-year-old daughter and infant son on the 9100 block of Foster Lane. It was in their house that the husband killed both his wife and himself, leaving the two children physically unharmed.
Police found out eventually.
Neighbors suspected something might have happened when they heard loud pops as the clock turned from Wednesday to Thursday following an argument. But police didn’t find out until Sunday — three and a half days later.
The four-year-old is being given all the credit.
It’s difficult to even imagine what it would be like to be four years old, trying to comprehend that your blood-soaked parents are not coming back and that you’re totally on your own.
The toddler was taken care of.
Police interviewed the girl as well as neighbors. “She said she heard a loud noise, then said her mommy was crying,” explained a neighbor. “She said mommy was broken.”
It prompted a heartfelt response on social media.
It’s the kind of story that almost demands the reader to put themselves in the shoes of the person who’s been affected. When that person is a four-year-old, your heart absolutely goes out to them.
It’s incredible that the kids survived.
Four-year-olds don’t really have survival instincts, and three and a half days is a long time. Whatever this girl did to keep her and her brother alive, it’s almost unbelievable.
How did it all go down?
While neighbors had heard the argument and a few noises, there was no follow-up. They reportedly thought something might be wrong after noticing no activity at the house, and that the lights had been on for days.
Police conducted a welfare check.
They came on the Sunday after the murder-suicide, but lacked probable cause to enter the home. It was only when a real estate agent who had keys arrived that they went inside.
It was a horrifying scene.
The wife was murdered as she lay in bed, then the husband turned the gun on himself. When police entered the house, they found the bloody scene in the master bedroom.
It was a seriously long time.
While both the four-year-old and infant are safe, there’s no telling what kind of psychological damage something like this will cause. The infant was reportedly barely breathing when he was rescued.
The kids are being taken care of.
“We cleaned [the girl] up, we fed her,” said a neighbor. “Obviously, she was very hungry and dehydrated.” Both kids have been placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services.
It’s a terribly traumatic experience.
Another neighbor told CBS that they found the gun at the scene when they entered the house. “[My husband] grabbed the gun and he told me to come over and he gave me the little girl,” she said. “She was obviously traumatized.”
Let’s hope for the best for these kids.
It’s tough to see the positives in a story like this, but at least both kids survived. Hopefully the resilience that saw them through this time will serve them well in life.
