Disheartening details of a horrific story
Derek Ward, 35, beheaded his mother, Patricia, shortly before taking his own life by jumping in front of a train last week in one of the most gruesome crimes of recent history. According to Reverend Robert Lubrano, Patricia’s brother and Derek’s uncle, told authorities that his nephew had been off his medication for several days, and the severity of his mental illness was underestimated by most of the people around him. Derek had never harmed or been violent towards his mother in any way, and never owned a firearm. According to Lubrano, it was the family’s lack of access to psychiatric help that ultimately brought Derek and Patricia Ward to their horrific demises.
Bystanders of the crime were so in disbelief at what they were witnessing, some were convinced it was a Halloween prank. According to one passersby, “The body’s feet were at the curb, the shoulders were at the middle of the street. The head was across the street.”