Apartment yields 3 kin -- 2 slain, 1 a suicide

The Colony West apartments at 1420 Breckenridge Drive are seen Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014. Little Rock police said Joshua Minor, 38, shot Lisa Rochelle Minor Chapman, 60; and Betty Joe Chapman, 86, and himself Wednesday in Apartment 51.
The Colony West apartments at 1420 Breckenridge Drive are seen Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014. Little Rock police said Joshua Minor, 38, shot Lisa Rochelle Minor Chapman, 60; and Betty Joe Chapman, 86, and himself Wednesday in Apartment 51.

A man shot his mother and grandmother to death before turning the gun on himself at the family's shared Little Rock apartment, police reported Thursday, a day after they broke in and found the bodies.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Officers responded at 10:11 p.m. Wednesday to Colony West Apartments at 1420 Breckenridge Drive after relatives of Joshua Minor, 38; Lisa Minor, 60; and Betty Jo Chapman, 86, had called police, saying they were concerned because they hadn't heard from any of them despite repeated attempts to contact them by phone, police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said.

After arriving at the home the three shared at Apartment 51 in Building 5, officers looked through the window and saw a body on the floor, according to a police report. Police then entered the apartment and found two more bodies.

Investigators determined that Joshua Minor, who the report states was "mentally afflicted," shot his mother and grandmother with a shotgun before killing himself. It was unclear how long the three had lived together.

Police said three shotgun pellets went through a wall of the apartment and were recovered next door. No other injuries were reported.

There was no known motive in the slayings, and there had been no past incidents at the apartment to which police responded, Davis said.

"We didn't receive any calls or complaints about those three or that apartment," she said.

Davis said investigators learned there had been "ongoing tension" between Joshua Minor and his grandmother, but couldn't elaborate.

Carmina Acotas-Zepeda, who lives above the apartment, said police officers questioned her and other residents about the family after their bodies were found. Acotas-Zepeda said she didn't know them but frequently heard their door slamming and what sounded like furniture being moved.

She said she didn't hear any gunshots Wednesday night and only knew something was wrong when police arrived at the apartment and began yelling.

"They were at the door saying, 'Hello? Hello?'" she said.

A Colony West Apartments employee tried to open the door for police but couldn't because the locks had been changed, Davis said. Officers kicked in the door to get inside.

The door was locked Thursday afternoon and had few signs of damage. Notices about a holiday decoration contest and forthcoming pest control services remained taped to the front.

Other residents didn't answer their doors Thursday afternoon. An assistant manager at the apartment complex declined to comment.

Relatives of Chapman, who were identified in a police report, did not return calls for comment.

Metro on 12/19/2014

Upcoming Events