Mass. father under extreme stress before shootings

[July 30, 2012]  OXFORD, Mass. (AP) -- Friends of a Massachusetts man police say fatally shot his 7-year-old daughter, critically injured his 9-year-old son, and killed himself had been under extreme stress recently.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. has said that 41-year-old Daryl Benway separated from his wife just weeks before Saturday night's shootings.

Friends and neighbors tell The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/OsKF7l) that Benway had also recently lost his job and feared foreclosure.

A family member called police after finding the bodies of Benway and his daughter, Abigail, in their Oxford home.

Benway's son, Owen, was found shot in the head in the kitchen and was taken to UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center where he remained Sunday night.

Benway's wife returned home after the shootings, unaware of what happened, to find police and TV crews.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe/

[Associated Press]

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