“It’s not always being fast or even accurate that counts, it’s being willing.”
Last Thursday I posted on the murders of Julie and Aeneas Hernlen, and about the fact that their 5 year-old daughter called 911 to report the crime. I’ve since done some searching, and found another case that is equally, if not more tragic. Back in June of last year The Nashville Files reported a 911 transcript that ought to leave you chilled. Freda Elliot hid in a closet and dialed 911 when her ex-husband stormed into her house. The transcript is the sound of her pleading for the police to come and save them before Parker Elliot killed them all.
911 Office, Tammy.
Tammy, my ex-husband’s here with a gun. He’s in here. He’s got a gun.
He’s going to kill them, hurry.
He’s got my kids, quick.
What’s his name?
Parker Elliott.
(Quick, shallow breathing)
2005 Forrest Ridge Trail, Culleoka. We’ve got a male subject in the house with a weapon.
He just told my kids he’s going to kill them if I’m on the phone. He’s going to kill me.
I don’t need you to hang up. Has he been drinking?
He’s going to kill me. They’re in the hallway with him, and I’m hiding in the closet.
(First shot is heard)
I’m hiding in the closet. I’m coming out ’cause he’d not going to hurt my kids. The kids are with him.
Can they get out?
I want to make sure he doesn’t shoot my kids. The kids are with him.
They’re deterring him. Please, please, he’s going to kill them.
Has he been drinking?
He’s got to be.
How long has he been out of the residence?
(Labored, quick breathing)
The kids are telling him I’m not here. He said if I’m here, he’ll kill them.
He just shot the gun.
He hasn’t seen you yet?
He’s coming. He just shot the gun again. Please! Please!
What kind of a gun is it?
A handgun. He’s going to the front door.
(Dispatcher to other emergency personnel) He’s inside the house, shooting. He had two children and an ex-wife.
Oh, he hit one of them!
Stay in the closet. He doesn’t know you’re in the closet?
He can see the phone cord coming in. Oh! He hit one of them.
(Gunshots. Sound of girl screaming in the background)
They’ve got the gun. I think my kids have got my gun. I can’t believe I forgot to get it.
I think one of my children has the weapon. He’s shot five times. I’m hiding in the closet, and my kids are out there with him.
How old are the kids?
15 and 18.
(Gunshots and screaming)
He shot five more. Is that all of them?
Ma’am, I don’t know what kind of gun he has.
He hasn’t shot them yet. My kids are still OK.
(Labored breathing)
(Kids screaming)
He’s going to kill me.
(Screaming)
He’s coming to the closet! He’s coming to the closet! He’s coming to the closet!
(Kids screaming, shrieking)
He’s at the closet. He’s going to shoot me. Help me! He’s here. He’s gonna hit me with the gun.
(Children screaming in the background)
Calm down.
He’s still shooting at the kids! Help me!
(Whimpering)
Be calm! They’re getting there. They’re coming.
He’s beating on the doors.
(Loud banging)
He’s still shooting.
Parker, don’t!
Parker, no! Please, no!
He’s going to beat a hole in the door.
Ma’am, calm down. What’s your name?
Please! Freda! Freda!
(Yell heard from man in background)
Please, don’t hurt my kids! Don’t hurt my babies! Parker, no!
Where are they?
I don’t know.
(Screaming)
Parker, please! Don’t!
(Screams, screams, screams)
(Gunshots)
Don’t hurt my babies!!
(Shrieks)
(Screams)
Freda, what’s going on? Freda?
(Gunshots, gunshots)
Hello?
This is E-Com 720. We just heard two gunshots inside the residence. We heard a woman screaming. Now we’ve got dead silence.
10-4.
Parker Elliot escaped the scene of the crime after killing his daughter, wounding his son in the neck, and shooting his ex-wife in the head. She later died. Elliot was later apprehended without firing a shot. The truly sad part about this? Freda Elliot had a gun. Both teenagers were old enough to know how to use it, but apparently did not. Remember Freda’s comment:
They’ve got the gun. I think my kids have got my gun. I can’t believe I forgot to get it.
Now Freda Elliot got a restraining order against Parker Elliot, but as Volusia County (FL) sheriff Ben Johnson noted in the case of the Hernlens, “An injunction is fine for someone who is willing to accept the rules. This individual here was set on taking action.” During the petition for the restraining order, Freda Elliot told the court: “Parker has a gun permit and always carries a gun. I also have a gun permit.” I’m not a real fan of the law that disarms anyone under a restraining order, but if you’re going to pass such a law, doesn’t it seem like a good idea to try to enforce it? Especially when allegations like “In 1994 he put a .44 to my head and was going to kill me because someone told him I was a good woman and if he didn’t want me, he would take me (it should have been a compliment)” are part of the deposition?
Freda Elliot, her 15 year-old son Seth and her 18 year-old daughter Rachel knew that Parker Elliot was violent and abusive and armed. They had their own firearm for self-protection. But when the time came they apparently were unable to use it to stop him. Instead, Freda hid in a closet and depended on 911 to save her. One of the kids might have retrieved the gun and tried to use it, but I’ve found no evidence of that other than Freda’s desperate phone call.
Zendo Deb of TFS Magnum linked to the earlier piece. A commenter left this, there:
Ya HAVE to have a gun and know how to use it. That’s all there is to it. That piece of paper can’t protect you and the cops probably can’t protect you either. Not if some maniac is in your house trying to kill you in the middle of the night.
But it requires more than just having the gun and knowing how to use it. It requires being willing.