7-year-old girl killed by father in apparent murder-suicide in Philadelphia, police say
PHILADELPHIA -- A man apparently killed his 7-year-old daughter and then himself in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, police said.
The discovery was made in a home in the 4500 block of Wilde Street around 10:55 a.m. on Monday. The girl was found in the living room, while the father was found in an upstairs bedroom.
The family of the little girl's mother said she had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Jeff Mancuso, and that she fought for years to have sole custody of their daughter because of his history of violence.
They said the court system failed them, and now their precious little girl is gone. Through their grief, relatives said Kayden Mancuso was a vivacious and talented little girl.
They also said she loved dancing, and at just 7 years old, she made the 10-and-under baseball team for girls with the Pennsbury Athletic Association.
"She had so much spark to her, she was our princess and our angel," said Kayden's aunt, Heather Giglio. "There's nothing we can do to bring her back."
Police said Jeff Mancuso killed his daughter then killed himself in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia. Authorities said the girl was dropped off to be with her father for the weekend on Saturday and was due back on Sunday.
The child's stepfather made the grisly discovery.
"We knew this was gonna happen one day, we just prayed it wouldn't," Giglio said.
A a fierce and prolonged custody battle had been going on. A mental health evaluation ordered by a judge in the Bucks County Domestic Relations Court concluded that Jeff Mancuso suffered from a major depressive disorder. The evaluation described him as a man filled with hopelessness and suicidal tendencies with a long history of violence.
"Through the times that he bit people's ears off in bars, through the times that he pushed Kathy off the stool when she was pregnant with Kayden," said Kayden's godfather, Matthew Moffett.
A judge concluded that the father's history of violence - including punching the family dog - and his lack of personal responsibility and remorse, had substantially and adversely impacted his relations with his daughter. Still, he ordered that he be allowed custody of her, but only from 10 p.m. Saturdays to 6 p.m. Sundays.
"The system failed us. My sister fought for her custody for years and they didn't listen to us. They let him take her and now she's gone," Giglio said.
"I just wished that the police, the courts, that everybody would have done something to change this before it got to this point," Moffett said.
Kayden was to be a second grader at Edgewood Elementary in the Pennsbury School District. School officials said counseling will be made available at the school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
