Audio By Carbonatix
The Gilbert murder/suicide in which five people were shot and killed — allegedly at the hands of neo-Nazi J.T. Ready — began as a domestic-violence incident between Ready and his girlfriend, Lisa Mederos, police say.
At a press conference this afternoon (thanks to 12 News for the live feed), Gilbert police spokesman Bill Balafas said investigators believe it was Mederos who called 9-1-1 while she and Ready were arguing, and shots were fired toward the end of that call.
Later — it’s not clear how much later — someone else called 9-1-1 from inside the house after finding the five bodies, including Ready and Mederos.
Sometime between those two calls, police say Ready shot Mederos, as well as her daughter, her daughter’s baby, her daughter’s boyfriend, and himself. All were declared dead at the scene except for the baby, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.
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Despite the alternate theories that are out there, Balafas says police are pretty darn sure Ready did it.
“We don’t believe it’s going to go in a different direction,” he said.
Balafas said police had gone to that house five times in the last few years, including for one incident in which Mederos claimed Ready had choked her.
Also, initial reports in the media that a man with a gun (presumably Ready) was wearing body armor appear to be erroneous. Balafas says Ready wasn’t wearing body armor, and there wasn’t any body armor found around him.
Balafas added that police won’t be holding any more press briefings about the killings unless some drastic changes happen in the investigation.
