Sam Peel
Banned
Forced to sell her father's watch for groceries: Broke mother shoots dead her two teenage children and herself in foreclosed home amid bitter divorce with luxury realtor husband
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A mother who shot dead her two children before committing suicide on Monday had reportedly taken her ex-husband to court for financial support after she was forced to sell her father's watch to pay for gas and groceries.
Jennifer Berman, 48, killed her son Alexander, 16, and 15-year-old daughter Jacqueline at their foreclosed West Palm Beach property in Florida after sending an email to her ex saying she was going to 'do harm' to herself and others.
The children's father and Mrs Berman's ex-husband Richard Berman, 51, found the bodies when he drove to the home immediately after receiving the email.
Mr Berman, a prominent realtor in luxury homes, and his wife divorced in December. Mrs Berman claimed in court documents that she was struggling financially, taking 12-hour overnight shifts as a nurse to make ends meet.
The mother and her two children were due to move out of their home in the exclusive, historically-protected El Cid neighborhood next month.
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Jennifer Berman (right) emailed her ex-husband on Monday to say that she intended to 'do harm'. Her body was later found along with her children Alexander and Jacqueline (left) who had been shot dead at their Florida home
Alexander Berman (left), 16, and his sister Jacqueline (right) 15, were promising music students at Dreyfoos School of The Arts in West Palm Beach
Richard Berman (second right) with his son Alexander and daughter Jacqueline along with two other adults. He discovered his children's bodies along with his ex-wife on Monday
Police were alerted by Mr Berman to the tragic multiple shooting shortly after 8am. Investigators said the deaths are being treated as a murder-suicide after all three died from gunshot wounds. Mr Berman was not considered a suspect, police said.
Family friend Brian McManus told WSVN that Mrs Berman had recently been going through a difficult time in her life.
Mr McManus said: 'Going through a divorce, foreclosure, a lot of that stuff which, it's an upsetting thing when you're going through a divorce and having to sell the beautiful house in this neighborhood, and it's just she just seemed like she had been upset lately.
'You can't fathom, you can't understand what's going on in someone's head for things like that to happen.'
Mr Berman, pictured at a party in May last year, had recently divorced from his wife and their West Palm Beach home was in foreclosure
Last year, Mrs Berman had also petitioned a judge to remove her husband from the home because of 'emotional abuse'.
The family had previously lived at another home in the historic and exclusive El Cid neighborhood which sold for $1.2million in 2010.
Mr Berman is a well-known realtor in the area and deals exclusively in luxury homes.
The home in which the murder suicide took place had previously belonged to Jennifer Berman's mother. The property had been in foreclosure since 2010 but was recently sold. The mother and her two children were due to move out in February.
Mrs Berman had been working 12-hour shifts as a night nurse for an elderly man because she needed the money, a friend, who refused to be identified, told the Palm Beach Post.
Alexander and Jacqueline Berman were accomplished musicians and attended the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach, Florida
Mr Berman pictured with his two teenage children. He divorced the children's mother in December
The Florida home where Jennifer Berman, Alexander Berman and Jacqueline Berman were found dead on January 13 in West Palm Beach
Mr Berman, 51, is a successful realtor who sells properties in West Palm beach, Florida
Mrs Berman lost her divorce lawyer because she could not afford to pay him last year.
According to the Palm Beach Post, she asked a judge to make her husband pay alimony and child support, claiming she was forced to sell her late father's watch to buy gas and groceries.
Court records from the attorney's of Mrs Berman claimed: 'The husband has not paid the mortgage on the former marital home during the entire time of the dissolution of marriage proceeding. He has not contributed to the support of the wife or of the minor children.
'In fact, he has refused to pay for toilet paper, buy food and supplies for himself and keeps them where the wife and children cannot access them.'
The Bermans married in 1992 in Miami. Mr Berman first filed for divorce in 2008 but the couple reconciled. Mrs Berman filed for divorced in August 2012 but the couple remained living under the same roof for a while.
Last year, Mrs Berman allegedly asked a judge to remove her husband from the home, according to the Palm Beach Post, because of 'extreme emotional abuse and fighting (verbal) in home'.
The couple shared equal custody of their two teenage children.
Neighbor Marian Sklodowski said that Mrs Berman had recently appeared 'upset, disappointed and confused'.
'You can notice that, from the face, from the eyes, something was strange in her face,' she added.
The teens attended the Dreyfoos School of Arts and were promising musicians, their devastated friends said.
Close friends and fellow musicians said they will remember Alexander Berman for being an accomplished cello player while his sister Jacqueline was extremely talented at the violin and a straight A student.
Grief counselors were on hand at the school to help classmates cope with the tragedy.
'At first it was just disbelief, going through stages of grief all at once. It's shocking to hear when it's one of your friends, you hear this on the news and don't think it will happen to you,' a friend told WPTV.
'Everyone was crying, everyone was silent, it was a sad environment,' another student added.
Mr Berman, 51, runs an exclusive realty company in Palm Beach, Florida
Read more:
- Jennifer Berman wrote ex-husband Richard an email threatening to harm herself and children Alexander 16, and Jacqueline, 15
- Mrs Berman and her husband had divorced in December and their home had been sold. The mother and her children were to move out in February
- Richard Berman is a well-known realtor in West Palm Beach, Florida
- His estranged wife 'petitioned a judge to ask her husband for grocery money in April after she was forced to pawn her late father's watch'
514
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comments
A mother who shot dead her two children before committing suicide on Monday had reportedly taken her ex-husband to court for financial support after she was forced to sell her father's watch to pay for gas and groceries.
Jennifer Berman, 48, killed her son Alexander, 16, and 15-year-old daughter Jacqueline at their foreclosed West Palm Beach property in Florida after sending an email to her ex saying she was going to 'do harm' to herself and others.
The children's father and Mrs Berman's ex-husband Richard Berman, 51, found the bodies when he drove to the home immediately after receiving the email.
Mr Berman, a prominent realtor in luxury homes, and his wife divorced in December. Mrs Berman claimed in court documents that she was struggling financially, taking 12-hour overnight shifts as a nurse to make ends meet.
The mother and her two children were due to move out of their home in the exclusive, historically-protected El Cid neighborhood next month.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Police were alerted by Mr Berman to the tragic multiple shooting shortly after 8am. Investigators said the deaths are being treated as a murder-suicide after all three died from gunshot wounds. Mr Berman was not considered a suspect, police said.
Family friend Brian McManus told WSVN that Mrs Berman had recently been going through a difficult time in her life.
Mr McManus said: 'Going through a divorce, foreclosure, a lot of that stuff which, it's an upsetting thing when you're going through a divorce and having to sell the beautiful house in this neighborhood, and it's just she just seemed like she had been upset lately.
'You can't fathom, you can't understand what's going on in someone's head for things like that to happen.'
Mr Berman, pictured at a party in May last year, had recently divorced from his wife and their West Palm Beach home was in foreclosure
Last year, Mrs Berman had also petitioned a judge to remove her husband from the home because of 'emotional abuse'.
The family had previously lived at another home in the historic and exclusive El Cid neighborhood which sold for $1.2million in 2010.
Mr Berman is a well-known realtor in the area and deals exclusively in luxury homes.
The home in which the murder suicide took place had previously belonged to Jennifer Berman's mother. The property had been in foreclosure since 2010 but was recently sold. The mother and her two children were due to move out in February.
Mrs Berman had been working 12-hour shifts as a night nurse for an elderly man because she needed the money, a friend, who refused to be identified, told the Palm Beach Post.
Alexander and Jacqueline Berman were accomplished musicians and attended the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach, Florida
Mrs Berman lost her divorce lawyer because she could not afford to pay him last year.
According to the Palm Beach Post, she asked a judge to make her husband pay alimony and child support, claiming she was forced to sell her late father's watch to buy gas and groceries.
Court records from the attorney's of Mrs Berman claimed: 'The husband has not paid the mortgage on the former marital home during the entire time of the dissolution of marriage proceeding. He has not contributed to the support of the wife or of the minor children.
'In fact, he has refused to pay for toilet paper, buy food and supplies for himself and keeps them where the wife and children cannot access them.'
The Bermans married in 1992 in Miami. Mr Berman first filed for divorce in 2008 but the couple reconciled. Mrs Berman filed for divorced in August 2012 but the couple remained living under the same roof for a while.
Last year, Mrs Berman allegedly asked a judge to remove her husband from the home, according to the Palm Beach Post, because of 'extreme emotional abuse and fighting (verbal) in home'.
The couple shared equal custody of their two teenage children.
Neighbor Marian Sklodowski said that Mrs Berman had recently appeared 'upset, disappointed and confused'.
'You can notice that, from the face, from the eyes, something was strange in her face,' she added.
The teens attended the Dreyfoos School of Arts and were promising musicians, their devastated friends said.
Close friends and fellow musicians said they will remember Alexander Berman for being an accomplished cello player while his sister Jacqueline was extremely talented at the violin and a straight A student.
Grief counselors were on hand at the school to help classmates cope with the tragedy.
'At first it was just disbelief, going through stages of grief all at once. It's shocking to hear when it's one of your friends, you hear this on the news and don't think it will happen to you,' a friend told WPTV.
'Everyone was crying, everyone was silent, it was a sad environment,' another student added.
Read more:
what kind of a mother could do that to her kids
