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Sheriff's Deputy Allegedly Shot Family, Self After Attempt To Transfer $40K From Work
Days before Onondaga County Sheriff Civil Deputy Isaac Eames apparently shot his family, their dog and himself with his service weapon, his superior at work questioned him about an attempted bank transfer.
A sheriff’s deputy in upstate New York apparently shot his family and them himself days after his job questioned why he tried to transfer departmental money into his personal bank account.
Investigators were called to the home of Onondaga County Sheriff Civil Deputy Isaac Eames on Feb. 7 where they found the deputy dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the foyer. His wife, Karen Eames, 46, his son, Troy Eames, 21, and the family dog were found suffering from gunshot wounds inside, CNY Central reports.
His older son, Andrew Eames, was reportedly not present when the shooting happened.
“There’s indication that he shot his son and his wife and the dog and then turned the gun on himself,” Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway told Syracuse.com. “There’s no signs of struggle ... no indication of any drawn-out argument.”
Karen Eames, a secretary at a local high school, survived being shot by her husband and remains hospitalized, though she was upgraded from critical to serious condition last week. Despite being shot twice, she was the person who called 911 after the shooting.
Troy Eames and the family dog both died as a result of their injuries. Troy was described as a kind, loving and sensitive soul” in his obituary.
Isaac Eames reportedly used his service weapon in the attack.
He had reportedly worked as grant writer for the Sheriff’s Office and, just days before the murder-suicide, was questioned by colleagues over an alleged attempt to transfer more than $40,000 of the office's money into his personal bank account, local outlet WSYR-TV reports.
The attempted transfer about which he was questioned in February occurred two months prior; the Eames' bank had flagged the transfer as possibly fraudulent, Syracuse.com reports.
Conway told WSYR-TV that Isaac Eames was not under any formal investigation at the time of his attack on his family, but that he had requested an audit of the sheriff's office by county authorities after the two spoke.
“After the interview, I personally requested that the comptroller’s office conduct an audit of all financials that Deputy Eames had responsibility for,” Conway told WSYR-TV in a statement. “We are a ways away from any conclusions. We will work with the comptroller’s office, and they will play a large role in any conclusions.”
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to Oxygen.com’s request for comment.
