Police Investigate Delay in Murder-Suicide Response

Police in Orlando (Fla.) have opened an investigation into how one of their dispatchers handled a series of telephone calls about a woman who was later found murdered, and her estranged boyfriend who was found dead lying on top of her, the apparent victim of suicide. The unnamed dispatcher fielded calls from the woman’s co-worker, who explained she had received a strange call from the woman. The dispatcher later talked to the victim’s father, and later even talked to the victim. But on logging tapes, the dispatcher took an odd tone with the woman, asking her to give her location. “If you hang up, you’re creating a lot of work for a whole lot of people,” the dispatcher told her. Finally, the boyfriend came on the line. About four hours later police traced the cell phone signal, found the woman’s car in a motel parking lot, and located the couple dead. Read more about the incident and listen to the 911 calls here.