How Could You? Hall of Shame-Chinese Adoptees- Kimberly and Jamie Reitnauer case-Child Deaths UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions

From Quakertown, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 2013,  it is suspected that adoptive father Gary Reitnauer, 59, had an argument with his wife, Michele, 58. He then went into the garage of another home on their property and started his car to apparently commit suicide by carbon monoxide. He died. Michele and adoptees Kimberly (Yun Jiao ‘Kimberly’ Cao), 16, and Jamie (Hongfan), 10, all attempted to save him but were overcome with fumes. Michele and Kimberly died at the scene. Jamie later died at the hospital.

“Friends and neighbors were stunned and saddened by the deaths of four family members who appear to have died of carbon monoxide fumes that resulted from the husband’s apparent suicide.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Tuesday night that a state police investigation indicates that Gary Reitnauer went to the garage of an adjacent home on the family’s property on Monday and started the car following a disagreement with his wife, Michelle.

He said it is believed that Michelle Reitnauer and the family’s two daughters tried to rescue him and were overcome by the fumes. Fire department rescue crews were unable to revive the family.

“Good man,” a nephew, Rob Zern, told reporters as he left the home. “The family was trying to save each other and it didn’t work out … don’t know what all went wrong, but it’s a tragedy all around.”

A neighbor described them as “just the sweetest family.”

State police were called to the home in Milford Township in rural Bucks County, about 45 miles northwest of Philadelphia, at 11:20 p.m. Monday. They found the structure filled with high levels of carbon monoxide from a running vehicle, Lt. Vincent D’Angelo said in a news release.

Investigators “believe the husband committed suicide and each … of the family members succumbed to carbon monoxide when they went to check on him and tried to rescue him,” Heckler said.

The cause and manner of death must still be confirmed by the county coroner’s office, he said. Autopsies will be performed Wednesday on the family, according to WFMZ-TV.

State police have found no note but the garage door handle had been knocked off “which suggested that the husband went in there and did not intend to be disturbed or rescued,” Heckler said.

He said the circumstances also indicate that the wife went to the garage and broke the window of another door in an attempt to rescue him, but was apparently overcome by the deadly fumes and was found inside.

The family’s 16-year-old daughter, Kimberly, then is believed to have gone to a kitchen adjacent to the garage. She was found on the floor there, Heckler said. Ten-year-old daughter Jamie is thought to have done the same and was barely alive when rescuers arrived. She later died.

The Quakertown Community School District announced the deaths on its website and said counselors would be made available to help grieving students and teachers.

The site said Kimberly, a junior, was a gifted student, receiving the highest possible score on the advanced placement calculus exam at the end of her sophomore year. She also sang in the chorus and played in the jazz band, and was set to compete at a band festival in Erie.

Her sister was a fifth grader and took part in her school’s Reading Olympics Team. Like her sister, she played in the school band and sang in the chorus. She wanted to become a veterinarian, the site said.

The children were adopted from China, according to Maggie Chambers, a neighbor. She said they were “just the sweetest family.”

Like other neighbors and friends, the deaths stunned her.

“It’s not that kind of family,” she said. “For me to even think for a minute that this was a deliberate thing, it’s just not them. It’s not.”

Six of Kimberly’s high school classmates placed flowers on the family’s mailbox Tuesday afternoon, then formed a circle, clasped hands and prayed. Afterward, they remembered their friend as a highly intelligent student near the top of her class, and as a talented musician who played piano and trumpet. She was happy, kind and humble, they said.

“Everyone here loved her. She always had a smile on her face. Her whole family did. They were just the happiest people, and they made everyone else feel the same way,” said Aislinn Strohecker, 17, a close friend and neighbor.

Neighbors said there was no inkling of trouble in the Reitnauer home.

Michelle Reitnauer, 58, gave Christmas cookies every year to a well-drilling company down the gravel road, and would fetch the company’s mail when she got her own, according to Gloria Mayberry, a secretary at the firm.  Reitnauer’s  59-year-old husband, known as “Ozzy,” would use the bucket on his John Deere tractor to take his trash can to the end of the drive, a cigar usually hanging from his mouth, she recalled.”

Pa. man’s apparent suicide leaves 3 others dead

[Associated Press 4/17/13 by Michael Rubinkam and Ron Todt]

“Carbon monoxide apparently killed a married couple and their two children in an eastern Pennsylvania home where police found a car running in the garage, stunning friends and neighbors who recalled the family Tuesday as happy and outgoing.

It wasn’t clear whether the car was left running accidentally, or whether it was an intentional act. State police declined to comment on the investigation.

Police were called to the home in Milford Township, Bucks County, at 11:20 p.m. Monday.

“When troopers arrived at the residence, they found the house was clearly filled with high levels of carbon monoxide from a running vehicle in a garage below (inside) the residence,” state police Lt. Vincent D’Angelo said in a news release.

The fire department also responded and discovered the victims. Efforts to revive them were unsuccessful. All four “appeared to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning,” D’Angelo said.

Police identified the victims as Gary and Michele Reitnauer and their children, Kimberly, 16, and Jamie, 10. Property records show the couple bought their ranch-style home, at the end of a long driveway in rural Bucks County, in 1996.

“Good man,” a nephew, Rob Zern, told reporters as he left the home. “The family was trying to save each other and it didn’t work out … don’t know what all went wrong, but it’s a tragedy all around.”

The Quakertown Community School District announced the deaths on its website and said counselors would be made available to help grieving students and teachers.

Six high school classmates of Kimberly Reitnauer placed flowers on the family’s mailbox Tuesday afternoon, then formed a circle, clasped hands and prayed. Afterward, they remembered their friend as a highly intelligent student near the top of her class, and as a talented musician who played piano and trumpet. She was happy, kind and humble, they said.

Gary Reitnauer, Michele Reitnauer And 2 Kids Dead From Carbon Monoxide In Eastern Pa. Home

[Huffington Post 4/16/13 by Michael Rubinkam]

“The fire department also responded and  discovered the victims. Paramedics on the scene attempted to revive the family,  but it was too late.

The victims have been identified as  59-year-old Gary Reitnauer, his wife, Michele, 58, and their two adopted  daughters, 16-year-old Yun Jiao ‘Kimberly’ Cao and Jamie Hongfan Reitnauer,  10.

Investigators ‘believe the husband committed  suicide and each…of the family members succumbed to carbon monoxide when they  went to check on him and tried to rescue him,’ Heckler said.

State police have found no note but the  garage door handle had been knocked off ‘which suggested that the husband went  in there and did not intend to be disturbed or rescued,’ Heckler  said.”

He said the circumstances also indicate that  the wife went to the garage and broke the window of another door in an attempt  to rescue him, but was apparently overcome by the deadly fumes and was found  inside.

The family’s 16-year-old  daughter, Kimberly, became concerned that  her parents had not come back and went to check up on them. She was found dead  in the kitchen adjacent to the garage.

Heckler said her  10-year-old sister, Jamie, was talking to friends during the ordeal, and they  had advised her to call 911, but her mother had told her not to alert police, PhillyBurbs.com reported..

At some point, the girl also went  over to  the second property to look for her parents and sister. When paramedics arrived,  the child  was found in the kitchen next to her sister’s body still clinging to  live, but she too later died.”

“The kids’ grandmother, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, lives on the  property in a trailer. Police say it was she who called 911 when no one came to  take care of her.  “
Mother and two adopted daughters, 10 and 16, die from carbon monoxide poisoning while desperately trying to stop father from committing suicide

[Daily Mail 4/17/13 by Snejana Farberov]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 Mental health services for adoptive parents also is lacking. Sigh.

Update: “Toxicology samples have been taken; however, autopsies have not been completed, officials said.

The family of four lived on a large property on the 1500 block of Kumry Road. It shares a long stone driveway with a drilling company.

The children’s grandmother, who lives in the same house as the family, called 911. She has Parkinson’s disease and when no one checked on her at the normal time she became concerned.

After state police found signs of carbon monoxide in the home, they called for firefighters. Milford firefighters, using breathing apparatus, found all four family members in the second house, three of them already dead. The parents died in the garage, Kimberly passed away in the kitchen and Jamie was found alive in the kitchen, where she soon after died.

“Sometimes there’s no answer,” said Debbie Moritz, administrator of the Bucks Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

So, far that’s the case right now with Gary Reitnauer, according to Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler. He said on Wednesday that whatever led Reitnauer to his fatal decision is unknown. Heckler said the couple had been fighting when Gary Reitnauer left the couple’s house and entered the garage of the second house. He broke the latch on the garage door, so no one could enter, and started the car.

At some point, Michelle Reitnauer went after him, broke a window and got into the garage where she collapsed and died. Kimberly followed her mother and collapsed in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jamie was “in communication with friends” who told her to call 911. She said her mother told her not to and instead she went to the second house and also collapsed in the kitchen.

“Once he turned that car on and locked it and turned that house into a deathtrap it was too late for anybody to do anything,” said Tony Salvatore, chairman of the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Team.

Salvatore said we might never know why Reitnauer decided to kill himself. Sometimes the 33 percent of suicides who leave notes don’t even explain it, Salvatore said.

Salvatore said several hotlines and crisis lines volunteers can offer help to those in need, but if someone thinks the danger of someone committing suicide may be imminent they should call 911. And, he stressed that police will do well-being checks, visiting people who might be in crisis.

Salvatore said the argument likely didn’t spark the suicide. He said people who take their own lives often spend days or weeks building up to it. Salvatore said for someone to take their own life they have to overcome their own instincts for self-preservation. The person will contemplate suicide, plan it and might even act out a mode to get themselves comfortable with it before acting on it. He said they might get accustomed to standing on a building, or sitting in the running car. This breaks down their resistance.

“… He just didn’t have a clash with his wife and kill himself,” Salvatore said. “He probably didn’t expect them to come looking for him, he probably didn’t think anybody cared about him.”

Moritz answers a 24-hour crisis hotline for NAMI, often dealing with people undergoing suicidal thoughts. She said some signs that someone might be considering suicide include giving away personal items, isolating themselves, behaving manically. Salvatore said sometimes wives and children are too close to the person to notice gradual changes.

“A lot of times, after the fact, people remember that the person was talking about (suicide) and they didn’t realize it,” Moritz said.

Someone who takes their life might be concerned about their employment, financial problems, divorce or “maybe (the deceased person) just didn’t feel like they were living up to what their role in their family should be,” according to Salvatore.

In 1996, the couple bought the houses on Kumry Road, which belonged to the Mayer family, owners of the well-drilling company that sits in front of the homes. They paid $186,000.

The couple adopted two Chinese children, Kimberly — also known as Yun Jiao Cao — and Jamie Hongfan, who was an infant at the time, said neighbor Joe Brogan.

A few years ago, both took early retirement packages from a biopharmaceutical firm, Bristol Myers Squibb, in New Jersey, when the economy was in recession, according to Brogan. Gary Reitnauer, who Brogan knew by the nickname “Ozzy,” started his own engineering consulting business and also pursued a couple of product patents.

According to government records, earlier this year Reitnauer and a team of engineers working for a New Jersey biotechnical firm were awarded a patent for a microchip delivery system.

Brogan said it was a shock first to learn that the family was dead and then that it appears Gary took his own life.

“Ozzy was super-hyper, pleasant, jolly,” Brogan said. “Whenever there was some kind of band event you could hear his voice booming out.”

Roe Cubbage visited the family’s mailbox Wednesday morning to place some plastic flowers and freshen up some of the memorial items that had been placed at the end of the family’s driveway.

She said she knew Michelle Reitnauer from various musical events in the area.

“You could tell, as she would tell stories of the children, you could see the love in her eyes,” Cubbage said.

Brogan said it wasn’t surprising that they would have each tried to help one another.

“They were a family that did everything together,” Brogan said. Referring to their death he added, “And now they’ve gone together.””

DA: Milford man tried to lock himself in garage but wife got in, CO got out

[Philly Burbs 4/18/13 by Matt Coughlin]

Update 2: “A coroner has ruled that an eastern Pennsylvania family of four died of carbon monoxide poisoning after the husband went to the garage after an argument with his wife and started the car.

Bucks County Dr. Joseph Campbell ruled the death of Gary Reitnauer in Milford Township a suicide. Officials believe Reitnauer’s wife and two daughters, ages 10 and 16, tried to rescue him Monday night and were overcome by the fumes. Campbell has ruled their deaths as accidental.

The coroner said Thursday that toxicology testing showed extremely high levels of carbon monoxide in the bodies of all four victims.

Campbell calls Reitnauer’s suicide a “selfish act” that wound up “devastating the entire family.””

Coroner: Carbon monoxide killed Pa. family; husband’s death ruled suicide, others accidental

[Washington Post 4/18/13 by Associated Press]

“Campbell said the carbon monoxide levels were about twice the lethal limit.”

“Authorities have said they do not believe Gary Reitnauer had any intention of harming his family.

Jamie had contacted friends on her cellphone, saying she was worried about her father and wanted to call 911, but her mother objected, Heckler said.

Quakertown Community School District officials have said the sisters were bright students, both involved in many activities, including band and chorus. Kimberly was a junior at Quakertown Senior High School and Jamie was a fifth-grader at Trumbauersville Elementary.

Neighbors have said Gary and Michele Reitnauer worked at the same company in New Jersey and retired together, adopting the two girls.” [Strangely written. Is she saying that they adopted AFTER retiring? That would mean waivers were granted. Who was the agency?]

Coroner: Bucks family died from carbon monoxide poisoning

[The Morning Call 4/18/13 by Pamela Lehman]