Mother shot dead her two children as they slept and then killed herself as real estate exec father raced home to try and stop her, autopsy report reveals

  • Jennifer Berman wrote ex-husband Richard an email threatening to harm herself and children Alexander 16, and Jacqueline, 15 on January 13
  • An autopsy report reveals what was long suspected, that she killed the two children befor killing herself
  • A 911 tape details the tense moments before and after Berman discovered the bloodied bodies of his children
  • 'It looks like she's laid in bed but she doesn't have a face,' neighbor says on another 911 call
  • Mrs Berman and her husband had divorced in December and their home had been sold; the mother and her children were to move out in February
  • Richard Berman is a well-known realtor in West Palm Beach, Florida
  • His estranged wife 'petitioned a judge to ask her husband for grocery money in April after she was forced to pawn her late father's watch'

By Daily Mail Reporters

Published: 22:40 EST, 12 July 2014 | Updated: 11:25 EST, 13 July 2014

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A 48-year-old Florida woman who killed her two teenage children earlier this year shot them in the backs of their heads as they slept in their West Palm Beach home before turning the gun on herself, a newly released autopsy report reveals.

Additionally, after killing her two children, 15-year-old Jacqueline and 16-year-old Alexander, Jennifer Berman left a suicide note on the counter in the kitchen, next to two open bottles of wine.

'I am so sorry to those that are hurting because they loved us...,' a portion of the note, obtained by CBS12.com, read.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE 911 CALL...

Jennifer Berman (right) emailed her ex-husband on Monday to say that she intended to 'do harm'. Her body was later found along with her children Alexander and Jacqueline (left) who had been shot dead at their Florida home

Jennifer Berman (right) emailed her ex-husband on Monday to say that she intended to 'do harm'. Her body was later found along with her children Alexander and Jacqueline (left) who had been shot dead at their Florida home

The rest of the note was not released along with the autopsy report.

The bodies of all three were found by the children's father - Jennifer Berman's ex-husband - Richard Berman, 51, shortly after the January 13, murders and suicide.

In a dramatic 911 audio recording, Richard Berman is heard frantically rushing to the home he once shared with his family immediately after his ex-wife had told him of her crazed intention to murder their children.

Despite the dispatcher's repeated warnings, he went inside and encountered an unimaginably grisly scene.

'He’s not moving, there’s blood on his ear,' the luxury realtor manages to sputter after finding the body of his 16-year-old son. 'I can’t believe this is happening.'

In the tense moments before it became all too clear that 15-year-old daughter Jacqueline and son Alexander were shot dead by their own mother, Berman told the 911 operator he was terrified to enter the house.

Mr Berman, pictured at a party in May last year, had recently divorced from his wife. Court records show they were both in financial difficulty after the split

Mr Berman, pictured at a party in May last year, had recently divorced from his wife. Court records show they were both in financial difficulty after the split

Bloody scene: The Florida home where Jennifer Berman, Alexander Berman and Jacqueline Berman were found dead on January 13 in West Palm Beach by their horrified father. The five-bedroom home was in the process of being sold for $590,000 - but court records show there were two mortgages on the home totaling almost $700,000.

Bloody scene: The Florida home where Jennifer Berman, Alexander Berman and Jacqueline Berman were found dead on January 13 in West Palm Beach by their horrified father. The five-bedroom home was in the process of being sold for $590,000 - but court records show there were two mortgages on the home totaling almost $700,000.

'She sent her cousin a text that she was going to kill the kids and herself,' Berman's said as he first waited outside for police as the operator instructed.

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But then a neighbor decided to enter the home in his stead and moments later came back screaming, according to the Palm Beach Post.

'There's blood on the walls,' the shocked neighbor yelled.

'It looks like she's laid in bed but she doesn’t have a face,' the neighbor added. 'I think the girl's up in bed with her but when I saw what was upstairs I had to run back downstairs.'

That's when, in the frenzy of the moment, Berman entered the home and saw the horror for himself.

'I was just all touching his head and he wasn’t waking up. His alarm was on and there was blood in his ear,' he said, his voice cracking.

Police then arrived and confirmed the worst.

Reports of battles over money and the family's foreclosed home are all the clues left that can paint a picture of what drove a mother to madness.

Jennifer Berman had reportedly taken her ex-husband to court for financial support after she was forced to sell her father's watch to pay for gas and groceries. 

Berman, a prominent realtor in luxury homes, and his wife divorced in December. Mrs Berman claimed in court documents that she was struggling financially, taking 12-hour overnight shifts as a nurse to make ends meet.

The mother and her two children were due to move out of their home in the exclusive, historically-protected El Cid neighborhood next month.

Alexander Berman (left), 16, and his sister Jacqueline (right) 15, were promising music students at Dreyfoos School of The Arts in West Palm Beach

Alexander Berman (left), 16, and his sister Jacqueline (right) 15, were promising music students at Dreyfoos School of The Arts in West Palm Beach

Richard Berman (second right) with his son Alexander and daughter Jacqueline along with two other adults. In a financial affadavit Mr Berman listed his monthly expenses as $4,700 a month but an income of $2,888

Richard Berman (second right) with his son Alexander and daughter Jacqueline along with two other adults. In a financial affadavit Mr Berman listed his monthly expenses as $4,700 a month but an income of $2,888

Police were alerted by Mr Berman to the tragic multiple shooting shortly after 8am.

Family friend Brian McManus told WSVN that Mrs Berman had recently been going through a difficult time in her life.

Mr McManus said: 'Going through a divorce, foreclosure, a lot of that stuff which, it's an upsetting thing when you're going through a divorce and having to sell the beautiful house in this neighborhood, and it's just she just seemed like she had been upset lately.

'You can't fathom, you can't understand what's going on in someone's head for things like that to happen.' 

Last year, Mrs Berman had also petitioned a judge to remove her husband from the home because of 'emotional abuse'.

The family had previously lived at another home in the historic and exclusive El Cid neighborhood which sold for $1.2million in 2010.

The home in which the murder suicide took place had previously belonged to Jennifer Berman's mother. The property had been in foreclosure since 2010 but was recently sold. The mother and her two children were due to move out in February.

Mrs Berman had been working 12-hour shifts as a night nurse for an elderly man because she needed the money, a friend, who refused to be identified, told the Palm Beach Post.

Good dad: Neighbors said that Mr Berman had a 'fantastic relationship' with his two musically talented children Good dad: Neighbors said that Mr Berman had a 'fantastic relationship' with his two musically talented children

Alexander and Jacqueline Berman were accomplished musicians and attended the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach, Florida

'The truth will come out': A friend, speaking for Mr Berman, said: 'Richard has been painted as a terrible father who did not care about his children.That is not true. That is so not true'

'The truth will come out': A friend, speaking for Mr Berman, said: 'Richard has been painted as a terrible father who did not care about his children.That is not true. That is so not true'

Past times: Mr Berman used to be successful but was hit hard by the housing crash. However, court records show he gave his wife the family home in the divorce and paid $600-a-month child support

Past times: Mr Berman used to be successful but was hit hard by the housing crash. However, court records show he gave his wife the family home in the divorce and paid $600-a-month child support

Mrs Berman lost her divorce lawyer because she could not afford to pay him last year.

According to the Palm Beach Post, she asked a judge to make her husband pay alimony and child support, claiming she was forced to sell her late father's watch to buy gas and groceries. 

Court records from the attorney's of Mrs Berman claimed: 'The husband has not paid the mortgage on the former marital home during the entire time of the dissolution of marriage proceeding. He has not contributed to the support of the wife or of the minor children.

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'In fact, he has refused to pay for toilet paper, buy food and supplies for himself and keeps them where the wife and children cannot access them.'

The Bermans married in 1992 in Miami. Mr Berman first filed for divorce in 2008 but the couple reconciled. Mrs Berman filed for divorced in August 2012 but the couple remained living under the same roof for a while.

Last year, Mrs Berman allegedly asked a judge to remove her husband from the home, according to the Palm Beach Post, because of 'extreme emotional abuse and fighting (verbal) in home'.

The couple shared equal custody of their two teenage children.

Jacqueline Berman, 15, was shot dead by her mother alongside her older brother at their Florida home on Monday

Jacqueline Berman, 15, was shot dead by her mother alongside her older brother at their Florida home on Monday

Neighbor Marian Sklodowski said that Mrs Berman had recently appeared 'upset, disappointed and confused'.

'You can notice that, from the face, from the eyes, something was strange in her face,' she added.

The teens attended the Dreyfoos School of Arts and were promising musicians, their devastated friends said.

Close friends and fellow musicians said they will remember Alexander Berman for being an accomplished cello player while his sister Jacqueline was extremely talented at the violin and a straight A student.

Grief counselors were on hand at the school to help classmates cope with the tragedy.

'At first it was just disbelief, going through stages of grief all at once. It's shocking to hear when it's one of your friends, you hear this on the news and don't think it will happen to you,' a friend told WPTV.

'Everyone was crying, everyone was silent, it was a sad environment,' another student added.

Mr Berman, 51, runs an exclusive realty company in Palm Beach, Florida

Mr Berman, 51, runs an exclusive realty company in Palm Beach, Florida

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