Victim Of Meridian Murder-Suicide Begged For Her Life

This has been one of those tragic stories that I just can't get out of my head.  So many victims... so senseless... so sad... and bit by bit more information keeps rising to the surface.  How this father... this man who obviously hit rock bottom... how he got to this point where he was willing to kill the mother and father of four children and then kill himself who was also a father of two... I can't understand.

We now know that Edward Epps Jr. who was the ex-husband of Heidi DeLeon was served a protection order the night before the shooting took place.  Heidi had been begging for help, fearing for her life for years.  She voiced this to authorities... she voiced this at her family court support group... she even voiced this in court, asking for protection because she feared for the lives of her children, her husband, and herself.  Heidi knew what was going to happen and nobody stepped up to help.  Or maybe nobody knew how to help.

According to KTVB, Heidi had been trying to get a divorce from Edward since 2011 but Edward was able to drag things out until 2015.  In 2018 Heidi started talking to law enforcement about death threats Edward was making towards the children.  The Meridian Police Department advised her to get a protection order so that she could work on modifying their custody rights.  That's what she did and that was one of the last things she did.

The main thing that prompted Heidi to get this protection order was a passage written in her daughter's journal that spoke of Edward saying he was going to barge into Heidi's home, shoot her and her husband and then take his own life.  That's right.  He literally told his daughters exactly what he was going to do, and then he did it.  Our thoughts now turn to these beautiful young girls who will never be the same.  The families to Heidi and her husband Joe DeLeon.  These people had brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and of course, children.  None of their lives will ever be the same and all that remains is this horrific tragedy caused by one EVIL man.

If you or anyone you know is going through domestic violence, do not wait.  Make a simple call to (208) 343-7025 and talk to somebody immediately.  Heidi did all the right things and all the wrong things happened.  But maybe... just maybe we can save one person out there.  Please call.