Man, upset over debts, kills family

FARMINGTON HILLS (AP) - A man who came home from Las Vegas distraught over gambling debts said in a suicide note that he "did not know how else to escape" - and so he killed his pregnant wife and three young children, then shot himself to death, police said yesterday.

A maid found the family's bodies in their beds in their neat two-story brick home in this Detroit suburb shortly after noon yesterday.

A suicide note left open and pinned down by salt and pepper shakers was found on the kitchen counter, Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer said.

In it, 42-year-old Jihad Hassan Moukalled expressed remorse about gambling debts and "clearly indicated he was sorry he had to take the lives of his wife and children," Dwyer said.

"For everyone I owe money to I have nothing to say but ask for your forgiveness," Moukalled said in the handwritten note. "Family and friends please forgive me. I never ever had a bad intent toward anyone. I think that I was gripped by the hope of 'one more shot.' I did not know how else to escape what I got myself into."

The victims were identified as his wife, Fatima, 31; daughter, Aya, 7; son Adam, 5; and daughter Lila, who would have turned 3 on Saturday.

Dwyer said Moukalled, who owned an Oak Park printing business, attributed his problems to gambling debts.

Interviews with relatives indicate his gambling problems started about four years ago with a trip to Casino Windsor.

AP PHOTO

Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer reads a suicide note outside the home of Jihad Hassan Moukalled in Farmington Hills yesterday.