Baldwinsville, N.Y. — A father who appears to have killed his 14-year-old daughter and then himself had two previous run-ins with the law but was not arrested either time.
Christopher Wood, 51, was found dead Friday morning in a bedroom of his home at 6 Triangle Place in Baldwinsville with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, law enforcement officials said at a news conference.
His daughter, Ava Wood, 14, was found dead in a bed in another bedroom, police said. A shotgun was the weapon that killed them both.
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Wood and Ava’s mother were still married but had been separated and living apart, police said. Ava primarily lived with her father in the home on Triangle Place.
The estranged couple had been in two prior domestic incidents that were investigated by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, said Tom Newton, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. Neither of the incidents were violent in nature, Sheriff Toby Shelley said at the news conference.
The most recent incident occurred two days before the apparent murder-suicide, Shelley said. Wood allegedly sent harassing text messages to his estranged wife, Shelley said.
The investigation was still active as of Friday, Newton said. There was not enough proof at the time of the incident to determine Wood was involved to make an arrest, he said. The text messages were sent from a blocked number, he said.
The previous incident occurred in March 2022, Shelley said. Wood’s wife alleged that her husband was stalking her, Newton said. She did not want Wood to be arrested but wanted the incident to be recorded, he said.
Since the incident did not rise to the level of a potential felony charge, deputies were not required to arrest Wood, Newton said.
Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.