CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — KRIS 6 News has learned more information connected to the original reporting on Monday, Feb. 3 of the murder-suicide on Glazebrook Street near Ray High School.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Corpus Christi Police confirmed that 60-year-old David Alexander shot and killed his wife, Karen, 62, before turning the gun on himself.
Even though the cause that led to Monday evening's incident is unknown, the Alexander's daughter, Rusti Sikes, is shedding light on her parents' final months.
Sikes, who lives in Bardolph, Illinois, has now been left with the task of organizing her mother and father's funeral services. Sikes said her mother Karen was fighting cancer and had three tumors in her abdomen that left her in constant pain. She said her mother loved to walk her dogs but she could no longer walk them due to the pain.
"Mom had told us she no longer wanted to be here," Sikes said, adding that it was something Karen brought up in several conversations.
She described her father as a devoted husband who did everything he could to make Karen's life easier. The former firefighter worked several jobs to help pay for his wife's medical bills and other things the couple needed but their situation became worse.
"Despite seeking help from multiple doctors, she (Karen) was either turned away, unable to afford care or told that nothing more could be done," Sikes said. "Through it all, my father did everything he could to provide for her and make her life just a little easier. But the weight of their hardships—her suffering and their financial struggles—became too much. I truly believe that after fighting for so long, they simply couldn’t fight anymore."
In the end, David took Karen's life and then his own on their 35th wedding anniversary.
“My parents shared an unbreakable bond, and their love for each other remained as strong on the day they passed as it was on the day they married—35 years earlier. Neither of them could bear to live without the other," Sikes said.
Their passing is heartbreaking, but in some way, it also speaks to the depth of their love—they couldn’t be without each other.”
Sikes has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the final arrangements for her parents. If you'd like to donate to her fund, click here.
