Pennsylvania Murder-Suicide: Father Mark Short Reportedly Pulled The Trigger, Killing His Entire Family [Video]

A recent murder-suicide in Pennsylvania captured national headlines when it was revealed that an entire family of five, as well as their dog, had been brutally shot to death. Included among the victims was a 2-year-old toddler who had previously gotten national attention after having survived a heart transplant just days after her birth.

The family involved was the Short family of Berks County, Pennsylvania, including parents Megan and Mark short and their three children 2-year-old Willow, 5-year-old Mark Jr., and 8-year-old Liana. When police came upon the heartbreaking scene, they reportedly found a note and quickly determined that they were dealing with a murder-suicide in Pennsylvania, reports CNN.

Because of the note, investigators reportedly had an idea which of the parents had committed the unthinkable crime against the family but opted not to release that information during the early stages of their investigation into the Pennsylvania murder-suicide. Today, however, the devastating news was made public that the Pennsylvania murder-suicide was apparently carried out by 40-year-old Mark Short. Authorities made the announcement just days after the Pennsylvania family was laid to rest on August 12.

The announcement that Mark Short was the one to carry out the devastating Pennsylvania murder-suicide was made on Monday by District Attorney John Adams. According to multiple reports, the Short family had been dealing with domestic issues for quite some time, and the couple was in the midst of an official separation at the time of the murder-suicide.

Megan Short, 33-years old, was a blogger who had gone public with the mental and emotional struggles she dealt with following her daughter’s birth and subsequent need for a heart transplant when she was only 6-days-old. According to Megan Short’s blog post, the Pennsylvania murder-suicide victim suffered from PTSD after her daughter’s birth due to the emotional trauma of nearly losing her child.

Berks DA confirms Mark Short shot and killed his wife Megan & 3 children & dog. Children were wearing pajamas.

— Cydney Long (@CydneyLongNBC10) August 15, 2016

Adams: On Aug. 6, Megan had been planning to move to an apartment in Yardley. Mark Short was going to rent a moving van to help her.

— Adam Richter (@richterific) August 15, 2016

The family, particularly Megan and Willow, were featured in an article by The New York Times, which was published in June 2015. In the article, the daily struggles of the Pennsylvania murder-suicide victims were made public for the world to see. Reportedly, the family’s primary issue had to do with getting their daughter Willow the daily anti-rejection drug she required in order to maintain her transplanted heart. Reportedly, stringent rules regarding the payment for and dispensation of the drug meant that the Pennsylvania family could only get a single month worth of the drugs at a time, could not refill them until the supply was three-fourths gone, and had to wait a week every time they refilled the prescription.

The stress of wondering, every month, whether their daughter would have the drugs she needed to stay alive reportedly added a huge amount of stress to the lives of the family involved in the Pennsylvania murder-suicide. Particularly when even missing a single dose could cost baby Willow her heart and her life.

“You just feel like every month, you’re hoping that they don’t mess it up.”

Following the news of the murder-suicide, there was widespread speculation that stress over Willow’s health could have been the cause, and many were left wondering if Megan Short could have been responsible for the crime. An investigation into the family’s domestic situation, however, quickly made that murder-suicide scenario appear less likely.

According to multiple reports, the family involved in the Pennsylvania murder-suicide called 911 due to a domestic disturbance not long before the murder-suicide was discovered on August 6. Friends and family alike knew that the Short family was struggling with marital problems, and on the day that the Pennsylvania murder-suicide was discovered, law enforcement had been called to conduct a welfare check at their Pennsylvania home after Megan Short failed to show up to a planned lunch date with her mom.

While police have not confirmed the specifics of the domestic issues the Short family was facing at the time of the tragic Pennsylvania murder-suicide, a friend of Megan Short did speak to Heavy on the condition of anonymity. According to the friend of murder-suicide victim Megan Short, Megan had become involved in a same-sex relationship with a woman she’d met through “transplant circles.” Mark Short, who allegedly killed his entire family and then himself in the recent Pennsylvania murder-suicide, was reportedly livid that his wife was leaving him for another woman.

“He was very upset she left him for another woman.”

According to at least one account, Megan was planning on moving out of the family home on the very day that the Pennsylvania murder-suicide took place.

Police say that they determined Mark Short to be the person responsible for the murder-suicide based on the note they found at the scene. In it, Mark reportedly admitted that he recently bought a gun and used it to kill his family. Police believe that the note was written shortly after Mark Short murdered his family during the horrific Pennsylvania murder-suicide he reportedly planned and carried out.

[Image via Shutterstock]