BELL, Fla. – In a report released by the Department of Children and Families, state investigators outlined patterns of neglect, abuse and parental indifference in the case of a Bell man who killed his six grandchildren, his daughter, then himself.
Saturday marks one month since Don Spirit called a Gilchrist County 911 dispatcher and admitting to killing seven members of his family at his home.
"I just shot my daughter and all of my grandkids," Spirit said. "And I'm going to be on my doorstep, and when you all get here, I'm going to shoot myself."
A short time later, Spirit kept that promise to end his life.
The tragic event was the final episode in a long history of problems that had plagued the family.
They mostly center around Don Spirit's daughter, Sarah Spirit, and her boyfriend, James Stewart, the father of her three youngest children.
According to the DCF report, on several occasions over the last two years, the two had not taken advantage of parenting services as recommended and offered by the department. The report indicates Sarah Spirit was overwhelmed at taking care of the children on her own, getting no help from Stewart or her father.
One of the most disturbing incidents centers around Sarah Spirit's son, Brandon Stewart, when he was rushed to the hospital with an arm fracture in 2013. The investigator said, "According to the mother, Brandon was playing in the yard, fell backwards, and trapped his arm behind his back. There are concerns because the explanation doesn't fit the injury."
An X-ray later determined there was an old healing fracture in the same area.
DCF investigators heard firsthand from some of the children about what was happening in Don Spirit's house, but as long as the children were living with their maternal grandmother in another town, the agency felt they were safe.
That changed when James Stewart's family evicted Sarah Spirit in July, and with nowhere else to go, she moved back in with Don Spirit.