Authorities are investigating what led to the tragic case of a family who was found fatally shot in their San Diego area home on Wednesday morning.
The San Diego police department identified the family as Amy Voight, 54, and David Voight, 56, and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter. The family died of gunshot wounds, police said, and investigators found a weapon in the residence.
Gerald Austin, Amy Voight’s father, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that his son-in-law had served in the navy as a officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, while his daughter worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service as a digital forensic examiner. He went on to say that his daughter adored David Voight, and that he believed the violence was driven by David Voight’s suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Mary Austin, Amy Voight’s mother, said she had noted that David Voight’s symptoms had recently become more severe and that she and her husband urged their daughter to seek help for the veteran.
“You could visibly see there was something really wrong,” Mary Austin told Fox 5. “He was fidgety. You could tell.”
Gerald Austin said his daughter had sought help for her husband in recent days, but they were unable to receive services because they did not have an appointment, allegations the Department of Veterans Affairs denied.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it could not comment on the case, citing privacy concerns, but that “what’s being alleged regarding VA services is not accurate”.
“All VA healthcare facilities offer same-day mental healthcare to all veterans who need it,” said Quinn Slaven, the VA press secretary.
The couple and their daughter were discovered by a concerned neighbor on Wednesday morning, and all were pronounced dead at the scene.
The county medical examiner’s office will conduct autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death, police said in a statement.
Seven out of every 100 veterans will experience PTSD in their lives, according to the VA. The rate is higher among veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan at 29%. Deployment significantly increases the risk of PTSD, according to the VA.
