Left inset: Joshua Fowler (Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Whitney Fowler (GoFundMe). Background: The home where Joshua Fowler and Whitney Fowler lived together in Grafton, NY (WRGB/YouTube).
A New York man reportedly involved in a domestic dispute with his wife ended up fatally shooting her, along with his father and grandmother. This tragic incident occurred years after his mother allegedly forewarned that he might “kill somebody someday,” according to police and media reports.
Joshua Fowler, 26, faces charges of murdering his wife, Whitney Fowler, his father, Wilson Fowler, and his grandmother, Anita Crandall, during an altercation on Wednesday night. The family resided at a home in Grafton, located about 40 miles west of Boston, as reported by local CBS station WRGB.
Joshua Fowler’s mother, Eleanor Crandall, told the outlet he has mental health problems and has allegedly refused to get help.
“To me, my son died that night, too,” Crandall said.
“I hate him,” she added. “And that’s a very strong word in my vocabulary. I don’t use that word unless I have to.”
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Police reportedly went to the Fowler residence multiple times in the past in response to domestic disturbance calls before the triple homicide last week. Joshua Fowler’s mom says he has dealt with anger and mental health issues for years, to the point where she thought he was going to hurt someone.
“I told his father when he was 15 years old, ‘You need to get him mental help because he’s going to kill somebody someday,'” Crandall told WRGB.
Joshua Fowler is facing first-degree murder, second-degree murder and a weapons charge in connection to the triple shooting. Friends and family, in addition to his mother, condemned him for his actions in interviews with local media.
“If he hears it, I hope he realizes the things that he did and knows that they’re wrong and knows that he just took somebody’s mom, somebody’s family, somebody’s sister, somebody’s daughter,” said Alexa Moak, a longtime friend of Whitney Fowler, in an interview with local ABC affiliate WTEN. “He just took them away.”
