Officials: Man fatally shoots 3, including young girl, before killing himself in Texas home

Associated Press

Last update: November 10, 2009 - 2:53 AM

CLEVELAND, Texas - Authorities called several times to check on a family's well-being in a rural Texas home eventually found the bodies of four people.

San Jacinto County investigators said Monday that 43-year-old Oliver Bills Jr. fatally shot his girlfriend, 27-year-old Shara Torres, her 4-year-old daughter, Sara Whitmire, and his adopted mother, 71-year-old Gloria Bills, before shooting himself Saturday.

Friends and relatives say Oliver Bills was off his medication, hallucinating and growing more violent. But no one was sent to the home north of Houston until 8 p.m.

Capt. Carl Jones said the initial non-emergency calls indicated Bills was sick but had no history of violence. Jones said his office had four squad cars Saturday and was swamped responding a major vehicle wreck.

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com

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