niolosoiale 0 #1 May 28, 2006 A vacationing doctor tossed his 4- and 8-year-old sons off a 15th-floor balcony of their Miami Beach hotel Saturday morning and then leapt to his own death as his wife looked on. Qinuo Van Dyk was startled by her son's scream about 8:30 a.m. Saturday and looked over to see Edward Van Dyk plunge to a 3rd-floor mezzanine, said Officer Bobby Hernandez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department. She looked over the balcony and saw all three died in the fall. "It's so horrific; it's almost unbelievable," Hernandez said. The Van Dyks were vacationing from their home in Alton, Ill. Edward Van Dyk, a a practicing oncologist, was celebrating his 10th anniversary with his wife, a former doctor who home-schooled their children.Hernandez said the family arrived at the Loews at 1601 Collins Avenue Tuesday. Hernandez said the couple had marital problems in the past six months, "but nothing that would indicate he would commit such a horrible act." Investigators scoured the three bodies for clues that could give them insight into what caused Edward Van Dyk to snap, Hernandez said. He said the medical examiner will determine an exact cause of death for each person. Hernandez said that detectives found no evidence in the room of a struggle or alcohol or drug use. Guests in adjacent rooms said they didn't hear anything coming from the family's room until Qinuo Van Dyk started screaming. Detectives Saturday were attempting to get her permission to search their home for a suicide note or other clues. They also hoped to find relatives who could fly to Miami Beach and help her. Hotel officials gave her another room, while police assigned two victim advocates and a police chaplain to console her. --------------------------------------------- I'm betting lots of debt was a factor here. EDIT: More story Edward Van Dyk, 43, tossed his two sons, ages 4 and 8, to their deaths around 8:20 a.m., Miami Beach Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said. Authorities did not release the names of the two boys. The mother of the children, Qinuo Van Dyk, 40, told police she and her husband had been having marital problems for the past six months, but hadn't argued right before the incident, Hernandez said. The woman heard one of her children screaming from an adjacent room in the Loews Hotel, where the Alton, Ill., family was staying. When she walked into the room she saw her husband going off the balcony, Hernandez said. She looked over the railing and saw her husband and her two children lying on a mezzanine roof that is about two floors above the ground. Hernandez said that despite the marital problems, the family had been celebrating the couple's 10th wedding anniversary. "It's a terrible tragedy. It's unfortunate that this gentleman was so selfish and in an effort to get back at his wife he took the two most loved people in the world away from her," Hernandez said. Hernandez said the woman did not know why her husband, a radiation oncologist at Alton Memorial Hospital, killed the children and himself. Edward Van Dyk began working at the hospital 18 months ago, when the family moved from New Mexico, hospital spokesman Rob Shelton said. "We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy and we offer our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Van Dyk and her family," Shelton said. People in neighboring rooms said they did not hear any noises, Hernandez said. A Loews Hotel spokeswoman in Miami would not comment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rwieder 0 #2 May 28, 2006 Geez....Talk about a total malfunction. How drastic.-Richard- "You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
