Son Kills Parents at Home in Horrific Family Tragedy

A tragic series of events has left a Wisconsin family shattered after a 25-year-old man fatally shot his parents in their home, then died by suicide during a confrontation with police.

Deputies with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8. Inside the Middleton home, they found David and Teri Pabst, both 64, dead from gunshot wounds. Their son, James Pabst, had already fled the scene in a white Honda Accord.

Authorities tracked him down hours later on U.S. Highway 14 in Vernon County. When law enforcement attempted to speak with James, he rolled up his window and refused to exit the vehicle. After more than an hour of silence, officers approached the car and found that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Investigators believe the murders occurred the night before, sometime after 9:30 p.m. on July 7.

David Pabst served as Director of the Wisconsin State Patrol’s Bureau of Transportation Safety and Technical Services. He joined the department in 1986 and spent nearly four decades dedicated to public service. Teri was a longtime educator who worked closely with children who had special needs.

In a statement, the couple’s daughters Lora, Danielle, and Heidi remembered their parents as loving, selfless, and devoted to their community. They also opened up about the mental health challenges James had faced.

“Our family, like so many others, was deeply impacted by mental illness,” they wrote. “We are devastated to have lost our brother James to his debilitating illness. For those who knew him, please remember the person he was before.”

The family urged others facing similar struggles to seek help and hold onto hope.