Suicide note pins blame on family's failing finances

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 21, 2007 | by Kelly Rayburn

BERKELEY -- Kevin Morrissey, a 51-year-old Berkeley man, killed his family in a murder-suicide this week because he was at a "financial breaking point" as the family skin-care business failed and because Morrissey found other work opportunities "unattractive," excerpts from a suicide letter suggest.

East Bay Regional Park District Police released small portions of the letter Wednesday evening, two days after they found Morrissey; his wife, Dr. Mamiko Kawai, 40; and their two children, Nikki, 8, and Kim, nicknamed "Lena," 6; dead in a parking lot at Tilden Regional Park.

There are no known eyewitnesses to the crime, but police are close to certain it was a murder-suicide perpetrated by Morrissey, whose .357 Magnum handgun was found inches from his hand.

The excerpts from the note offer the most vivid evidence yet of what Morrissey might have been thinking.

In the note, Morrissey provided investigators with his family's personal information and ways to contact relatives, police said.

He accepted full responsibility for the "actions" and apologized to first responders and law enforcement investigators, police said.

He said Aura Skin Care Center, which he ran with his wife, was failing and, apparently, he saw no way around his financial problems.

News of the gruesome crime stunned people who knew the family.

"They were the family we all want to be part of," said Dr. Nina Birnbaum, a friend. "Kevin and Mamiko loved each other so much. He called her his bride and she called him her groom. They never referred to each other as husband and wife. He'd say something like, 'Ask my bride about that.' It was very warm and endearing."

Morrissey, it seems, would have expected people to be shocked.

In the note, he wrote that his family was "a typical family with a normal set of relationships within our community and family," police said.

He also wrote, "Today's deaths will likely be surprise to anyone who knows us."

Focus on finances

Authorities are focusing squarely on the financial trouble as a motive.

Police said Wednesday they removed some paperwork and a computer this week from the family home on the 1300 block of Northside Avenue in Berkeley.

Investigators are interested in finding out whether Morrissey kept any kind of notes that would indicate long-term planning, police said.

"You can never be 100 percent sure," said police spokesperson Shelly Lewis, "but nothing is indicating it is anything but Kevin Morrissey committing a triple homicide and then killing himself."

She said it would take weeks for police to dig through the records.

"There's a lot there," she said. "They're just starting to scratch the surface."

Police have, for the time being, placed reports that Morrissey was once employed by the Central Intelligence Agency on the back burner.

Police Sgt. Tyrone Davis said Tuesday that Morrissey's brother, Jack Morrissey, of Austin, Texas, told police his brother was once employed by the CIA.

Neighbors said Morrissey had told them the same thing. Jack Morrissey declined to comment on whether his brother was ever employed by the CIA.

The CIA would not confirm or deny the report, saying in a statement, "For reasons of security and individual privacy, the CIA does not as a rule discuss publicly who may or may not have worked at the agency. That's true even if the suggestion is that someone may have served with the CIA years ago."

Davis said any possible CIA connection seemed unrelated to the deaths.

Signs of planning

Besides the suicide letter, about a page and a half, typed and found in Morrissey's pocket at the crime scene, Morrissey drafted a letter to his co-workers at the Aura Skin Care Center.

Someone familiar with the note's contents, who wished not to be identified, confirmed Wednesday it contained instructions on how to close the business and deal with the aftermath of the deaths.

The note was apparently left by Morrissey at some point Monday, but wasn't found until Tuesday, this person said.

It was read Wednesday, but did not include any information on why Morrissey would want to kill his family, the source said.

Morrissey had, in past casual conversation, reportedly mentioned the company was hemorrhaging -- that more money was going out than coming in.

He purchased the .357 Magnum believed to be the murder weapon April 19 at the Old West Gun Room in El Cerrito, just blocks away from Aura Skin Care Center, police said.

He took possession of the gun, the only firearm registered to his name, on May 1, after the state-required waiting period passed, police said.

A man who answered the phone at the Old West Gun Room, who refused to identify himself, professed ignorance, saying, "I don't remember a thing about him. No comment."

Even those who saw Morrissey recently, however, said there seemed nothing wrong or abnormal.

The couple reportedly did not work Monday.

Mail carrier Marie Desarmes saw Morrissey and his girls that morning, during her usual route, at about 9:30 a.m.

"They were all smiling and friendly as usual," she said. "He said, 'Hi, Marie!' and they all waved and we all told each other to have a nice day. It was perfectly normal."