Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an apparent murder-suicide involving a father and young daughter.
A deputy found the bodies of 29-year-old Ryan Peters and his 3-year-old daughter Teigan Peters, both from the Phoenix-area, shortly after midnight on Monday. They were discovered in the area of Parissawampitts Point off Highway 67 leading to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
Mesa police officers called the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday after a relative of Ryan’s called police and said they were concerned for Ryan and Teigan’s safety. The relative described Ryan as “despondent” and possibly suicidal as the result of a divorce and a custody decision.
**Blog Author note: Why was this child in the custody of the father if he was suicidal and despondent? Wake the hell up people!!!!**
Father's Day Coward Ryan Peters Kills Himself and His 3 Year Old Daughter
City man held in murder case in Michigan
How does a man described as a good neighbor and loving father end up a suspect in a double murder in which the victims may be his relatives?
That's what those who know city resident Johan A. Vanniekerk are wondering since two bodies were found in a Marshall, Mich., Comfort Inn around 5:30 p.m. Friday. Vanniekerk, 40, was preliminarily charged with two counts of murder and an immigration violation Sunday and was being held without bond at the Calhoun County Jail. He was scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. today at 10th District Court in Battle Creek, Mich.
Fort Wayne Police believe Vanniekerk drove to Marshall with his mother and one of his three young daughters after being accused of beating his wife, Donna J. Vanniekerk, according to a news release from Officer John Chambers, a Fort Wayne Police spokesman. Police have not said why Vanniekerk stopped in Marshall, a town of about 7,300 located about 90 miles north of Fort Wayne.
