RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A man who terrorized his estranged wife for months killed the woman and four of his stepchildren during a middle of-the-night rampage, police said Monday.
Patrick Dell, 41, and his wife, 36-year-old Natasha Whyte-Dell, had been going through a bitter divorce, and it appears he targeted her and his stepchildren, police said. However, Dell spared his biological 1- and 3-year-old children. A fifth stepchild, 15-year-old Ryan Barnett, also was shot in the house but was expected to survive.
Friends and neighbors said Whyte-Dell time after time took the man back - even though he had installed cameras to keep an eye on her and stalked her when she went to work and nursing school, all in violation of a restraining order.
The violence that unfolded around 2 a.m. Monday was the culmination of a lengthy dispute that came to a head Dec. 20, when Whyte-Dell said her husband came after her with a knife, slashed her tires and scratched an “X” into the concrete driveway.
After that - five days before Christmas - Whyte-Dell told police she feared for her life.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 09/28/2010