Shocking News From One of Our Clients, McCann L. Utu of USA Institute of Sports

Every once in a while, violence is too close to home. I just found out a few hours ago that one of my favorite non-profit leaders, McCann L. Utu, has just experienced one of the most terrible tragedies. According to news reports, his estranged wife, Stacy Fawcett, 45, was stabbed to death by his eldest son, McCann Utu, Jr., 19.  In addition to killing the ex-wife, his son also stabbed his youngest son, Josiah Utu, 17, to death too. Then, McCann Utu, Jr. took his own life by stabbing himself.

McCann's ex-wife was a television reporter in Dallas, TX who worked for Channel 8's News 8 Daybreak. Consequently, this gruesome story is all over the news right now. According to the People website:

After the incident, a male suspect contacted police, telling the 911 operator that he had committed murder. Officers were then dispatched to the home in Plano, Texas – a suburb 20 miles north of Dallas – where they "made entry into the residence and discovered a deceased adult male and adult female along with another adult male who was alive with multiple stab wounds."

The suspect, her son McCann Utu Jr., was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later died.

As far as I can tell, McCann Utu, Jr. had been recovering from a traumatic brain injury that occurred over a year ago. He had brain injuries due to a basketball accident and then again from an altercation with another student. I know a little about traumatic brain injury myself and I do know that it makes people surprisingly aggressive. 

I gave McCann a quick call today to let him know Trish and I are praying for him. He seemed remarkably at peace and resigned to the situation. As he said, there is no explanation. It was obvious that he was in profound grief for both his sons and their mother. He is a man of proven religious faith and he is showing that now.

McCann's relatives have established a GoFundMe account to help fund the memorial services for the entire family. As I understand it, any excess funds will be donated to the North Texas Food Bank in Fawcett's memory. You can access that account here. I urge you to please give generously to this cause.

The public is invited to attend the public memorial service for Stacy Fawcett, McCann Utu and Josiah Utu. It will be held this Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. The address is 6801 W. Park Boulevand, Plano, TX 75093.