Heart-op tot dead in family slaughter
A Pennsylvania toddler who made headlines after undergoing a heart transplant at 6 days old was found slain with the rest of her family in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said Sunday.
The body of 2-year-old Willow Short was found Saturday in the living room of her Sinking Spring home, along with those of her sister, Liana, 8, her brother, Mark Jr., 5, and their parents, Megan, 33, and Mark, 40, officials said. All had been shot.
A handwritten note left near one of the parents indicated the family had been struggling with Willow’s illness and other domestic issues, a local ABC-TV affiliate reported, quoting the Berks County district attorney.
Police did not say which parent was believed to have fired the shots.
The family had been profiled in The New York Times in July 2015 in a piece that detailed their difficulty obtaining anti- rejection medication for Willow.
Willow had suffered a rare congenital birth defect known as hypoplastic left-heart syndrome, which required a series of surgeries.