Father of children slain in murder-suicide: ‘They were suddenly taken from this world in the worse way’
Published 4:55 pm Tuesday, October 3, 2023
The Alabama man whose wife apparently drowned their two young children before killing herself last week is seeking the public’s help to overcome debt left after his entire family was lost.
A Go Fund Me page was setup by Kendra Bandock, the sister of Derek Johnson.
Police say Johnson discovered the dead bodies of his two children – 2-year-old Jacob Johnson and 5-year-old Mia Johnson – along with their mother, Nancy Johnson.
“I loved Mia, Jacob and Nancy so much,” Derek Johnson wrote in a statement posted to the Go Fund Me page. “Nancy had been struggling with mental issues and was having an identity crisis since the pandemic started.
“She let the teaching and rumors of the world consume her and no matter how I tried to help her she pushed me away and I could not force her to get help,” he continued.
“We have been in a custody battle for the past 6 months and she kidnapped my kids for around 2.5 months, so I had no contact with them and then they were suddenly taken from this world in the worst way possible around a day before I arrived back to the house.”
“The amount of happiness and love that emanated from Mia and Jacob was very apparent to all that they were around. Our house was filled with joy and happiness, their future was so bright in every way possible. So much love and care was put into them for the 7 years of our marriage,” Derek Johnson wrote.
“Now I am at ground 0 and left with around 25k in debt, a bathroom that I can’t possibly stare at where my children were drowned, I want to tear it all out. $1800 in property taxes due soon and I just don’t have foresight on when I will go back to work.
“Any help is appreciated, I have 0 motivation in life right now and can’t function that well at the moment. I do eventually want to write a book to help others identify and see the dangers of mental illnesses in a relationship. There is a wonderful and terrible story to tell to the world that I hope helps others stops future dangers to their children.”