State had closed case on Fla. woman accused of shooting teens

TAMPA — Three months before police say Julie Schenecker shot her teenage children to death, authorities investigated a tip that she had abused her daughter.

Calyx, 16, told a child protective investigator her mom had hit her in the face with open and closed fists and had "busted" her lip a month earlier, a state Department of Children and Families (DCF) report states.

An investigator for the DCF visited the house twice and interviewed Schenecker, Calyx, 13-year-old Beau, and the children's father. Schenecker admitted "backhanding" her daughter in an argument. But finding no evidence of injury, authorities closed the case.

The Nov. 2 incident was the first time the mother and daughter's arguments became physical, Calyx's father told an investigator, according to the DCF report.

Army Col. Parker Schenecker told an investigator in a Jan. 6 phone call that he often mediated in their verbal arguments, the report states. Calyx described him as the family's "referee."

He told the investigators he had no safety concerns for his children.

Two weeks later, his wife bought a .38-caliber pistol with the intention of killing her children and herself, police say.

On Jan. 27, she shot her son, Beau, 13, in her sport-utility vehicle on the way home from soccer practice, police say. She finished driving home, parked and went upstairs. There, police say, she shot her daughter, who was doing homework on the computer.

A judge denied her bail Monday and said he expects her attorney will request a mental evaluation.

Schenecker faces two counts of first-degree murder. On Monday, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said that not only did Schenecker leave handwritten notes in the house detailing how she planned to kill her children, she also wrote a note after the crime explaining how she did it.

"It was very detailed and matter-of-fact, devoid of emotion," McElroy said.

Schenecker did not explain why she didn't carry out her plan to kill herself, McElroy said.

A U.S. Central Command spokesman said Parker Schenecker has returned from overseas, where he was at the time of the shooting, to Tampa and is taking time off from work.

The November abuse investigation started with a tip from a counselor at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. Calyx and her mother had been going for counseling for three weeks prior because of communication problems, according to Tampa police.

Calyx told the counselor her mom had hit her. Mental-health counselors are required by state law to report allegations of abuse and neglect within 24 hours. So on Nov. 6, police and a child-services investigator went to their home.

Calyx had no visible injuries. But she told police that four days earlier, on the drive home from cross-country practice, she and her mother argued and her mother slapped her. Calyx said she covered up the bruises on her face with makeup, DCF's report said.

Schenecker said the argument started after her daughter bought something at the grocery store and when Schenecker looked in the bag, Calyx said "stay out of my business."

Then she told her mom, "you're disgusting," and "you're not my parent," Schenecker told police.

Schenecker acknowledged that she "backhanded" her daughter in the face three times.

Calyx told police she was never hit like this before. Her parents usually revoked privileges or took items from her, she said.

Schenecker told police that Calyx's behavior had changed in the past year.

Police spokeswoman McElroy and DCF spokesman Terry Field explained that for abuse charges to be warranted, there must be evidence the child was injured. Investigators didn't find evidence that Schenecker's actions harmed Calyx, they said.

"And the investigator felt comfortable that there were services in places," Field said. "They were getting counseling. It appeared that [Calyx] was safe."

On Nov. 8, two days after the police investigation, Schenecker was involved in a crash and a trooper noted she showed signs of drug impairment.

A trooper wrote that Schenecker had "dilated pupils with no reaction to light, [and] mush-mouthed speech."

In a sobriety test, the report states, Schenecker's eyes were involuntarily jerking, which can be a sign of drug or alcohol impairment.