Woman Killed In Holmesburg Murder-Suicide Was Human Resources Director For Philadelphia City Council
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The woman killed in a murder-suicide in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia was the human resources director for the Philadelphia City Council.
Philadelphia police say 44-year-old Haywood Neuby shot and killed his wife, 37-year-old Linda Rios-Neuby, at her home on the 4000 block of Meridian Street. The couple's 4-year-old twin girls were home at the time of the shooting.
Police say they were called to the home just after 8 a.m. on Friday.
Police say the babysitter arrived at the home around 7:40 a.m. to take care of the twin girls when she heard an argument upstairs. She then heard gunshots and immediately left the home.
Police say the 4-year-old girls left the home on their own and went to a neighbor's house.
Police say they found Haywood Neuby on the first floor of the home suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The body of Rios-Neuby was found in a second-floor bathroom. Police say she was shot three times.
"I can't come to terms with what would cause someone to kill the mother and orphan his children. It's unbelievable," said Philadelphia Police Capt. John Ryan.
Police say Haywood Neuby went by the home to see his daughters. The couple was estranged but still married.
Neighbor Danielle Parks was friends with the family and says the couple was going through a divorce.
"Great mother. You know, she went through a lot to have those babies," said Parks. "He was great. I'm not even going to discount that he was a good friend of mine as well and just truly can't believe it."
Philadelphia Councilman Curtis Jones knew Rios-Neuby for more than a decade. She worked at City Hall since she was 16 years old as a high school intern.
"We're like a family on that floor and she's at the end of the hallway and we would see each other in passing in the hallway," said Jones.
Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke called Rios-Neuby's death a "tremendous loss."
"Words cannot describe the heartbreak I feel. Linda was more than a dedicated public servant; she was a beloved colleague and friend to so many in City Council, she was a loving mother to two little girls, she was a counselor in whom everyone could confide. I am so sad and angry that she died this way," Clarke said in a statement.
He continued, "It will take some time, but I'm going to try to remember Linda at her happiest -- her beautiful smile and infectious joy as she carried those beautiful twins four years ago, never slowing her pace at work until nature forced her to do so."
Police are still investigating the incident.
