LEESPORT >> Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams painted a grim picture of a marriage falling apart and a man driven past the edge of despair, as he announced the results of the homicide investigation that left all five members of the Short family dead.
Mark Jason Short Sr., 40, shot and killed his wife, Megan, 33, their three young children Lianna, 8, Mark, 5, and Willow, 2, and the family dog, before turning the .38 caliber, five-shot revolver handgun on himself, authorities confirmed at a press conference Monday. It happened Aug. 6 inside the Sinking Spring couple’s first-floor living room at 51 Winding Brook Drive.
“This was a very, very unfortunate incident,” Adams said. “I don’t know that anything can be learned other than when leaving an abusive relationship, it’s often a very dangerous time for a victim. We urge anyone who’s in a similar situation to develop a safety plan and contact their local domestic violence agency for assistance.”
As detectives pieced together the evidence that led to that fateful afternoon, the couple’s turbulent relationship began to come into focus. Mark Short, a Delaware County native from the Folcroft area, and Megan were in the process of a separation following a series of domestic disputes. It apparently got so bad in fact that police said Megan feared for her life and was in the process of leaving her husband. Family members described Mark as someone who struggled to keep his family together.
Following the deadly scene, Dr. Neil Hoffman, department of pathology at Reading Hospital, conducted Mark Short’s autopsy Aug. 8 and concluded he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. There was no evidence of substance abuse. A toxicology report is scheduled to be published within the next few weeks, authorities said. No other autopsies were performed.
Berks County District Attorney Forensic Detectives processed the affected areas of the crime scene. Five empty 0.38 caliber casings were found in the basement family room, in close proximity to the stock of ammunition, police said.
Authorities said during the investigation one latent fingerprint was found on a live round from the gun recovered next to Mark’s body. This round was placed in the gun after the first five rounds were fired and the gun was reloaded. It was positively identified to be Mark’s fingerprint. Additionally, the sales slip to Mark Short for the .38 caliber handgun and ammunition was found and seized from the home.
Pennsylvania State Police then analyzed the handwritten note found at the crime scene and determined it was Mark’s handwriting. Details of the letter released to the public show that Mark admitted to purchasing the gun and killing his family and himself.
Adams expressed his sympathy to the family members affected by the tragedy.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to them during this difficult time,” he said, before thanking police who helped during the entire investigation. “We thoroughly investigated this to make sure we got it right.”
“This was a very tragic incident,” he later said. “We hope we can heal and move on.”
Investigators released the following time line of events leading up to the deadly crime scene:
* June 4 – Security was called to a Philadelphia hotel room where the couple had been staying for the evening after a report of a domestic dispute.
* July 18 – Sinking Spring Police responded to a domestic dispute at the couple’s home after Megan dialed 911. No charges were filed, no physical injuries were found and Mark had left the property by the time officers arrived. It was there Megan told police she was afraid of her husband. Police did everything they legally could to convince her to obtain a protection from abuse petition but she never did.
* July 19 – Mark purchased a 0.38 caliber five-shot revolver handgun and a stock of ammunition from a licensed gun dealership in Lancaster County.
* July 25 – Megan leased an apartment in Yardley, Pa., and periodically was moving items out of the home. Police say she planned to take the children with her when she left for good.
* Aug. 1 – Mark was demoted at his place of employment where he worked as a loan officer for poor attendance.
* Aug. 5 – Mark takes his three children to Hershey Park as part of a family day sponsored by his employer. Megan doesn’t join them. At approximately 7:30 p.m. a neighbor saw Megan park her car in the driveway directly behind her husband’s parked car. Megan wrote a post on Facebook at approximately 11:30 p.m.
* Aug. 6 – Megan was planning on moving to her apartment that morning. Her mother and other family members waited for her arrival at the new place to help her move her belongings inside. Mark supposedly was going to rent a moving van to help his wife move that morning. Investigators said it was Megan’s mother who first contacted police after her daughter failed to appear for a prearranged lunch date with her at noon, which caused concern. When Megan didn’t answer her cell or home phones, a family member called a neighbor to check and see if Megan was home. The neighbor later told police both of the Short’s vehicles were still parked in the driveway but they were unable to contact either Mark or Megan. When she couldn’t reach her daughter, Megan’s mother called police at 2 p.m. to report the incident and informed them that the couple had been having “domestic issues.”
Upon arrival, officers were unable to make contact with anyone inside the Brookfield Manor home and eventually forced their way in through the rear kitchen window. Once inside they found the remains of the family, all with apparent gunshot wounds, along with what appeared to be a one page handwritten murder/suicide note left on the dining room table. A handgun was also found next to Mark’s body.
The Berks County District Attorney’s Detective Unit then took over the investigation with the assistance of Sinking Spring and Spring Township Police Departments and the Berks County Coroner’s Office. At approximately 6:07 p.m., Berks County Deputy Coroner Joel Bonilla pronounced each family member dead. Detectives obtained a search warrant to investigate the crime scene which was eventually released at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 7. As a result of the search warrant several items were seized, some which required forensic analysis.
