Troy Ryan Bellar – A Florida man named Troy Ryan Bellar, pictured below, chased his family around the yard Sunday and shot them to death after arguing with his wife.
Police say Troy Ryan Bellar, 34, then killed himself after mercilessly killing his two young sons and his wife Wendy Bellar, 31, with a semi-automatic rifle.
Investigators were still searching for a motive for the slayings that followed a fight late Sunday between Troy Ryan Bellar and his wife, Wendy Bellar, 31.
Authorities believe Wendy Bellar tried to leave the home in Lakeland, Forida, with two of the children after the fight, said Polk County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Scott Wilder.
But Bellar opened fire with a 7.62 mm rifle and killed his wife, 5-month-old Zack James Bellar and 7-year-old Ryan Patrick Bellar in the front porch area.
Another son, 13-year-old Nathan Bellar, was pursued through the garage by his father, evaded several gunshots, and made it safely to a neighbor’s house where police were called.
When police arrived, they found Troy Ryan Bellar dead in the front yard of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“This is one of the most tragic, senseless and horrific crimes we have investigated,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.
And that’s the latest news on Troy Ryan Bellar.
Tags: domestic violence, gun, murder, troy bellar, troy ryan bellar
May 4th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
His eyes are glowering in rage! He look like he thinks he’s Ted Bundy or something! Creepy!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
A 13-year-old boy who watched his father kill his stepmother and two younger brothers before aiming the rifle at him is helping investigators reconstruct what happened in their Florida home.
The teen was staying with his grandparents Monday, a day after investigators said his father, Troy Ryan Bellar, 34, shot and killed his wife, Wendy Bellar, 31, and then their 5-month-old and 8-year-old sons following an argument.
Bellar then chased his oldest son, Nathan, through the home’s cluttered garage and took aim, but tripped on a bicycle before he could get off another fatal shot.
As Nathan ran screaming to the safety of a neighbor’s house, his father killed himself in the front lawn.
Detectives praised the surviving teen for being helpful and answering their questions despite the horror he witnessed.
“His entire family is gone,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who said the teenager cried some and was very quiet. “What he witnessed, what he was engaged in, most people in this world will never witness.”
His father and stepmother had fought before, but Nathan Bellar told investigators he had no reason to believe their latest exchange would turn violent.
But then Wendy Bellar carried 5-month-old Zack James Bellar out the front door in a car seat when her husband followed them with a 7.62 mm rifle, the sheriff said. She intended to take the infant and 8-year-old Ryan Patrick Bellar to her in-laws for the night but was shot down on the screen porch.
Investigators said they had not found any suicide note, and a motive remained unclear for the killings in Lakeland, between Tampa and Orlando.
“They argued a little bit, but nothing significant,” Judd said.
It wasn’t the first argument for the couple who’d been married for a 10 years. According to an arrest affidavit, Troy Bellar accused his wife of hitting, punching and scratching him in March. Wendy Bellar was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery, and the case was pending.
After Nathan safely reached a home nearby, a neighbor relayed information from him to a 911 dispatcher.
“A boy’s here at my house that lives there and says that his dad shot his mom and there’s a baby there,” the neighbor, who was not identified, told a 911 operator.
Deputies arrived at a horrific scene: Wendy Bellar and her two young sons dead from gunshot wounds in their screened-in porch and their father lifeless in the front yard. A preliminary investigation indicates that more than 10 rounds were fired in all.
Investigators say Troy Bellar ran a home remodeling and handyman business, which next-door neighbor Doug Lane said seemed to do a steady business despite the economic downturn.
Judd couldn’t say if the family was experiencing any financial difficulties.
Records show the Troy Bellar had been arrested twice, once on suspicion of armed robbery and aggravated battery in 1994 and once for driving under the influence in 1999. He was convicted of petit/retail theft in the first case and of driving under the influence in the second.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
That was one creepy dude! Good thing the oldest was able to get away…