A mother and son have only each other to lean on for support after a violent incident took away four members of their family. The mother, Loretta Traynor has to live the rest of her life knowing that it was her own brother responsible for the tragic death of husband and their three beautiful children.
At their funeral, 50-year-old Loretta sat in her wheelchair just a few feet away from the four caskets of her husband and children and said they were “taken too soon, too violently and without warning,” as quoted by CBC.
“In no way, shape or form can I believe that good will come out of this tragedy. I can’t and I won’t accept it,” she said while her only surviving son, Sam, stood next to her, as reported by CTV News.
When her family was shot dead, Loretta was also left severely injured by the shooter, Mitchell Lapa. 48-year-old Mitchell, Loretta’s brother entered their home in Oshawa, Canada “uninvited” before shooting the family down, according to Durham Regional Police, as reported by the Toronto Sun.
“Lapa was the sole shooter in this incident and he died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the police said.
A friend of the family also said that Mitchell killed the rest of Loretta’s family but intentionally left his sister wounded. “They’re saying Mitchell killed all Loretta’s family and only injured her enough, so she would have to live without the rest of her family,” the friend said.
While talking about Mitchell, the friend also said, “Even as a kid growing up, Mitchell was a couple of years younger than me — always in and out of trouble. And that was from a point of view of a teenager who was able to see that all that time ago. I am not surprised of what I’m hearing… He was mentally unstable.”
It was also reported that after the death of Loretta’s father, she and her children inherited most of their father’s assets while her brother, Mitchell was cut out from it for the most part, as reported by CBC. He decided to get back at his sister by taking away her husband of over 20 years, Chris and their children.
After Mitchell launched the violent attack on Loretta’s family, he has left her devastated from the loss, and heartbroken from the death of her three children, 20-year-old Bradley, 15-year-old Adelaide, and 11-year-old Joseph. Her oldest son, Sam survived because he was not at home when the gruesome attack took place.
“They were the best of me,” Loretta said at their funeral. “I have lost so many parts of me that make me a better person.”
In her emotional eulogy, Loretta said as quoted by CTV News, “I am so proud to be Chris’ wife. I love him with everything that I have. I am so proud to be Bradley’s mom. He was one of the kindest spirits to ever walk the face of this earth. And I am so proud to be Adelaide’s mom. Her heart was pure as gold. And I am so proud to be Joey’s mom. He was innocent and happy and he had the biggest dreams of all of us.”
The grieving mother added, “My last words to each of them was that I loved them.”
Her oldest son, Sam, who was not at home during the violent shooting that killed his family members, said, “The happiness that they brought us is greater than any evil,” as quoted by CBC.
“I wish with all my heart that it could have been longer and we could have all gone through life together,” Sam added, wishing his dad would have been around for his graduation and wishing he could have made more memories with his siblings.
As Loretta sat in her wheelchair at St. Mary of the People Parish in Oshawa, according to CTV News, she told the service-attenders that the death of her husband and children has sent her to “dark places.” But she also added, “…what I have to take with me is that light that I have found from all of you. You have given me a lens into my family’s lives that I didn’t have and that is a gift for which I am forever grateful.”