Popular Texas Food Reporter Stacy Fawcett Found Dead Alongside 2 Sons In Apparent Murder-Suicide
Stacy Fawcett, a popular food reporter for Channel 8's News 8 Daybreak in Dallas, was killed in a devastating murder-suicide involving involved her two teenage sons.
Fawcett's oldest son, 19-year-old McCann Utu Jr., stabbed both his mother and his younger brother, 17-year-old Josiah Utu, and then called the police around 12:30 a.m. to say, "I have committed murder." Utu then stabbed himself multiple times, dying shortly after he was transported to a local hospital.
In a statement obtained by People magazine, officers who arrived at Fawcett's home in Plano, Texas, "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."
Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Fawcett's brother, Justin Fawcett, said that he believed his nephew to have been suffering from mental health issues related to two significant concussions sustained while Utu was playing basketball in high school, in the fall of 2013 and the spring of 2014. Both events are believed to have altered Utu's personality considerably. Classmates of the Utus described the boys as caring and close to one another, and expressed shock at the grisly crime.
In a written statement to Channel 8, Utu's father, McCann Utu Sr., also mentioned his son's brain trauma. "I'm in so much pain and need to grieve for my boys and Stacy right now," Utu said. "God will use my pain to help and save others that are going through mental illness and concussion."
Fawcett, 45, who was known locally as "Dallas' favorite foodie," was also an online contributor for 103.7, KVIL-FM. "We will miss her kind, gentle spirit and her loving personality," the station said.
"She loved sharing her passion for food with us and with the viewers in North Texas, and she will be missed," Carolyn Mungo, the executive news director for Channel 8, said in a statement.