Middletown Murder Suicide Investigation

A Maryland man who killed his wife and three children before turning the gun on himself left behind five suicide notes, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators say Christopher Alan Wood left notes that included an apology to family members and hints of psychological problems.

The sheriff says Wood killed his wife, Francis Billotti Wood, their five and four year-old sons, as well as their two year-old daughter inside their home sometime before 9 AM Saturday morning. The mother and all three children had gunshot wounds and “traumatic cuts” to their bodies.

Wood worked at CSX and there’s evidence he may have been in debt, according to investigators.

The family’s pastor, Father Kevin Farmer at the Holy Family Catholic Community Church, says Francie Wood grew up in Middleton. With just one stoplight and less than 3,000 residents, he says Middletown had been a quiet place. “We in Middletown always watched the TV and said, ‘look at that” and the locals come and say this is a small, quiet, happy town. Nobody would ever expect anything like this and now it’s our people saying the very same thing.”

But now it’s Middletown creating a makeshift memorial in front of the little yellow house on Washington Street.

Mary Beachley left a teddy bear along the porch and says the couple coached her granddaughter’s soccer team. "To look at him and how he acted with the children. I mean he was very soft spoken, never raised his voice, didn't holler. It just hard to believe that something like this, this would happen.”

Father Farmer says Francie had just moved her family back to be closer to her parents. Investigators say it was the grandfather who discovered their bodies. During morning services at the family’s church, Father Farmer said he was trying to help Francie’s parents grieve. "They were incredibly strong, and then at other moments they would just break down as any of us would," he says.

Church employee Jean Rhoades says Francie was a very popular catechism teacher. “Enthusiastic, high-energy. Somebody you would be drawn to immediately, very friendly.”

Both friends and co-workers say the 33 year-old mother never gave any indication of trouble brewing at home. But Joe Parker, who says he knew Francie when she was a young girl, admitted he hadn’t had the chance to reconnect with the family since they returned to the neighborhood earlier this year. Something he says he now regrets.

“I’m not angry at God,” Parker says. “I’m angry at the way our civilization has moved to the point we just don’t seem to have the connection to one another any more.”