A man killed himself in Staten Island on Thursday morning, after murdering his wife in suburban Philadelphia and fleeing with their kids, authorities said.
Keith Belajonas, 32, was found dead in his car following the hours-long pursuit, police said.
It’s believed Belajonas killed his 28-year-old wife, Christina, in Drexel Hill, Pa., around 3 a.m. and took off with their two boys in a Pathfinder, authorities said. The boys are between 4 and 7.
“One of the children states, ‘Is Mommy dead? Is Mommy dead?’ and out the door they go,” Upper Darby Township police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told reporters.
Belajonas raced to Staten Island and robbed a CVS on Victory Boulevard where a family member worked, authorities said.
“The employee that he held up allegedly is a family member,” Chitwood said. “After he held them up at gunpoint, he then left the kids behind and he took off.”
Officers from the 122nd Precinct station house were headed to that CVS when they spotted Belajonas’ Pathfinder headed the other way and chased him to a dead end on Bartlett Avenue, NYPD officials said.
The officers called for backup and didn’t approach Belajonas, authorities said. He apparently killed himself before the additional officers arrived.
NYPD officers held up white bedsheets to shield the kids from photographers as they walked them out of CVS and into an ambulance.
The boys’ mom was shot in the head and stabbed.
Keith Belajonas believed his wife was cheating on him, leading to a loud argument and her murder, police said.