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Murder-suicides in which a man kills a woman before shooting himself are horrifyingly common.
In recent months, we’ve written about the slaying of Leah Cabrera, the killing of Charlie Enice Brooks and the death of Corinne Munger, who posted on Facebook about toxic relationships shortly before her life was cruelly cut short by her husband, Bruce Munger, who subsequently took his own life.
So frequently do such tragedies take place these days that they often receive very modest media coverage. That’s certainly the case with the murder of Littleton’s Christa Benton by David Fallon, with whom police say she had a “long-term, intimate relationship.”
Like Munger, Benton shared a number of ominous Facebook posts shortly before her death, including one that reads: “That a-hole tried to break my neck.”
The incident took place at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6, on the 550 block of South Grant Street.
As noted by 9News, the report of shots fired prompted a brief lockdown at Littleton High School, which is located nearby.
Upon their arrival, officers with the Littleton Police Department discovered a man, Fallon, dead by his own hand, and a woman, Benton, suffering a gunshot wound to the head.
She was rushed to an area hospital, but nothing could be done to save her.
Benton’s Facebook posts in the hours before Fallon killed her, on a page festooned with images of her with her children, made it clear something had gone terribly wrong.
At 3:51 a.m. on the 6th, she posted, “I need a ride to the hospital after i get off from work. Can someone please help me out?”
She elaborated at 5:30 a.m., writing, “That a-hole tried to break my neck! On my way to the er.”
A 9:13 a.m. followup reads, “Now I need to find out how I’m going to get money so I can eat today and get my prescription.” Fifty minutes later, she added, “I’m so hungry.”
Her final post, at 1:02 p.m., only ninety minutes or so before she shooting, finds her waiting for her son at a Taco Bell.
The note ends with this heartbreaking statement: “Can’t take the pain anymore!!!!!!”
Afterward, her son wrote the following testimonial:
“You were the greatest mom anybody could ask for. I love you and you will always be in my heart.. I know it wasn’t your time to go but the best always go first. I don’t know what I’ll do without you, but everything i do will be in your name. I’ll miss you.”
Our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Christa Benton.
Editor’s note: The original version of this post made reference to a friend rather than Berton’s son. We’ve corrected the text above. We regret the error.
