A 51-year-old Idaho man is behind bars after he allegedly shot his 18-year-old daughter to death on Monday.
The Caldwell Police Department stated they responded to a residence around 4 p.m. after receiving a call from a teenager who reported finding his father, Delbert Cornish, with a gun upon returning home. Upon arrival, officers found the teen waiting outside the house.
“The son mentioned that Cornish had talked about shooting a family member and had tried to stop him from getting away,” according to the police. “After a brief altercation, the teen escaped the home without injury and contacted 911.”
Inside the house, officers discovered the victim, identified as Hope “Onyx” Cornish, along with a firearm. The suspect, having apparently left the scene, was later tracked down with license plate readers and other technology to another residence in Mountain Home, where he was apprehended without trouble.
Crystal Thompson, mother of Onyx, the teen who called 911, and a younger son who lives with her, told the Idaho Statesman she was “just so angry.”
“At one point in time, I loved this man,” she said. ” … my daughter’s dead. What the hell?”
Thompson mentioned that the two older children resided with Cornish, and Onyx frequently clashed with her father, though she never anticipated violence. She has yet to inform her younger son, who has autism, about his sister’s passing.
Delbert Cornish has been charged with murder and attempted murder. Police have not indicated a motive.
