8 = §=YOUR COMMUNITY | NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Sing your favorite Christmas carols HELPING herald in the festive season with a musical flourisb, the North Shore News has published a selection of everyhody’s favorite Christmas carols in teday’s special pull-out Christmas carol supplement. See page 31. Kothing would stop Pryce from shooting family, inquest witness states RON PRYCE was a madman. who would have killed anyone who got in his way the day he murdered his four young children before committing suicide, according to re haha) EF Tha a TSH, RAR ot “ae te AT eS psychiatrist Derrick Eaves. The expert witness told a cor- oner’s inquest Friday he doubted police could have prevenied the Sept. 10 tragedy. “The final event unfolded too quickly,’’ said Eaves. ‘‘We seem to be dealing with a massive, emo- tional response (to the break-up of his family).”” Eaves said he believed Pryce would have shot his wife Darlene, 23, who recently separated fram Pryce, had she not fled that morn- ing to call police. S RON PRYCE...killed four of his children and then himself. “T think she did what litde she could,” he said. Darlene testified Wednesday Pryce intended (‘o shoot her children if he returned home to find her gone. She said she pleaded with police to prevent him from returning to ‘heir house at 317 West Fourth Street. Pryce had left with the couple’s preschoolers to pick up a fourth child from his kindergarten vlass around 14:45 a.m. Clayton, 5, Kristall, 4, Kendall, 2, and Clinton, $1 months, were shot by their father soon after he arrived home around noon. “The realization that his wife wasn't there Was a trigger point.” with Pryce once its Emergency Response Team was in place out- side the home. He said the earliest this would have occurred was 1:30 p.m. because of the time it takes to assemble its members and brief them on the situation. Eaves said he believed police were wise to wait, because he told his wife he would kill anvone who interfered with his murder-suicide plan. “People in that situation are enormously brittle...anything can happen. He would have shot it out with police,’” he said. Eaves provided the two-woman, three-man jury with @ psychiatric profile of Pryce, based on state- ments he obtained from police, Pryce’s wife and friends. He said in the majority of murder-suicides, a younger man is almost always involved. He noted Pryce, at age 42, would fit this description. He also said the majority of murder-suicides occur in a house, and the weapon is usually a firearm. Pryce shot his children at close-range with a .38 calibre han- dgun, while they were in their bedroom. Eaves said three-quarters of vic- tims are killed by a gunshot wound to the head ii1 a bedroom. He said only one event, three days prior to the tragedy, hinted at Pryce’s unstable emotional state. He said Pryce’s eldest son told his father he loved him, and was beaten. “Thal was a massive, un- provoked response to what seemed to be a positive gesture, “Un Mr. Pryce’s situation what SEE PRYCE INQUEST JURY FINDINGS: PAGE 3 —— Eaves said, ‘but (the incident) had ail the haiimarks that the would have occurred anyways. There was a real intensity Go Kil his family). Police testified. during the first rwo days of the inquest, that they emtered the house after they netic: around Pl:d8 alin. Sober fossticd ed otire Siar Sar baed police phinned feo mak. const snap in his behavior. The eruption in its final form, except for the minor heralding incident Qwith his son), wats NOt expected." Paves said Pryce hilled the children because he sas them as evtensions of himself, and beleved thes woull safer ap they were raised in acingie parent Tannby, MAPLEWOOD Farm attendant Sheila Williams poses in full festive regalia with Daisy the cow. The North Vancouver farm has a full slate of Christmas activities planned for December, including carol singalongs and pony rides. Maplewood will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. For complete information call 929-5610.