MERIDIAN -- The Ada County coroner has identified a father and infant son in an apparent murder-suicide in a home on S. Pelican Way.
Meridian Police say it appears Nicholas Bacon, 20, shot his 8-month old boy Bekm, then turned the gun on himself.
According to police, Bacon's estranged wife received a series of telephone calls from her husband Monday, the last of which she said he threatened violence.
"Her husband was making suicidal and homicidal threats; he had their baby with him," said Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea.
The couple was going through a divorce, but because they had joint custody of their son, Bacon had the child for the afternoon and was supposed to return him that night. Bacon’s wife called police after her husband threatened to harm the baby and himself. Officers went to the home around 8:30 p.m.
"My oldest boy looked outside and saw all the cop cars and all the emergency vehicles out in front of the home," said neighbor John Meyer.
Officers knocked on the door and called inside, but got no answer. They entered the home through the garage after Bacon’s wife gave them the code to open the door.
Officers found Bacon and his son on the floor of the living room, dead from gunshot wounds. A .40 caliber handgun was nearby. An exact time of death is not known, but Basterrachea says the shootings happened before officers arrived.
"We were surprised to see the (crime scene) tape out front," said neighbor Frank Lane. "That's what drew our attention."
Basterrachea says the Meridian Police Department had no previous contact with the family. Bacon, who graduated from Mountain View High School in 2008, had no criminal record and no known history of domestic violence. Basterrachea said Wednesday that Bacon got the gun from the home of a family member without that person's knowledge.
"We probably will never be able to explain how somebody could do this, or why, but we're trying to bring all of the pieces together to at least give us a little more clear idea of what happened there," Basterrachea said.
Neighbors say the family, who moved into the rental house about one month ago, kept to themselves.
"I'm sorry to hear about it. It's sad to hear something like that is going on in your neighborhood, you know," Lane said.
A memorial fund for Bekm Bacon has been set up at local US Bank branches.
