This file photo released by the Connecticut State Police shows Alton Perry, left, 2, and Ashton Perry, 6 months old.HARTFORD, Conn. – A woman who shot and killed her two young grandsons before committing suicide last year left a note to the boys’ parents saying they did not deserve to have the children, according to a police report.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information request, suggests a possible motive for the first time and sheds new light on her mental health problems: The grandmother, Debra Denison, had a history of conflict with the boys’ mother and had attempted suicide a half dozen times before.
Denison, 47, picked up 2-year-old Alton Perry and 6-month-old Ashton Perry at a day care in North Stonington on Feb. 26, 2013, and was supposed to take them home for a birthday party but instead drove to a nearby lake where they were found shot to death after a frantic search.
In addition to a suicide note to her husband, Denison left a note addressed to the boys’ parents, Jeremy and Brenda Perry. Denison was Brenda Perry’s mother.
“The note stated among other things that Brenda and Jeremy did not deserve to have the children and Debra wanted them to feel the loss of a child,” state police Detective David Lamoureux wrote in a report on Oct. 22.