Greek-American Man Suffering from PTSD Kills Family in Murder/Suicide

Nicholas Mavrakis III, of Jackson Township, outside Canton, Ohio, allegedly shot and killed his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself in a murder/suicide on Father’s Day.

The shocking incident took place at the family home in Jackson Township, five miles from Canton, Ohio according to police and local media reports.

The Greek-American man was a U.S. Army veteran who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Local police, in a post on Facebook, reported that Mavrakis, along with his wife Lesley Mavrakis, 37, and children Ace Mavrakis, 13, and Pippa Mavrakis, 5, “were found dead shortly after 4 PM Sunday in their home.”

Murder/suicide could be linked to multiple deployments and PTSD

A relative of Lesley Mavrakis called the authorities after she visited the family home and there was no answer at the door, according to a report from The Canton Repository.

The New York Post stated in an article on the tragedy that the relative told dispatchers “I know her husband has like PTSD from the military and he’s been having problems.”

Police officers who arrived at the home discovered all four family members already deceased. The incident is reportedly being investigated as a domestic dispute that turned into a fatal confrontation.

The Jackson Township Detective Bureau, the Coroner’s Office and Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, are investigating the case as a triple homicide and suicide, according to the police.

The Post reports that “A neighbor told The Repository that Nicholas and Lesley, who had moved into the neighborhood in 2016, were ‘always very cordial to me.” The same neighbor, who shared that he had also served in the military, was aware that Nicholas was suffering from PTSD following his deployments.

The Greek-American man had served in the U.S. Army from April 1993 through July 2013 and retired as a staff sergeant according to US Department of Defense records. He had been deployed to Afghanistan from January 2002 to July 2002, and served in Iraq twice, from February 2003 to February 2004 and then again from September 2007 to November 2008.

Jackson Local School District officials posted a statement after the murders on Facebook, in which they stated they “grieve the loss of two young children, and their family.

“Ace Mavrakis was well-liked by faculty and staff at Jackson Memorial Middle School. He was a member of the Jackson High School ninth-grade football team. Pippa Mavrakis was registered to start kindergarten at Strausser Elementary School in August.”

Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink said in a news release, “No other details of this incident will be released until notification of next of kin or additional information becomes available.”