Henrico County

6400 block of Cookes Farm Drive

6:00 AM

Gunshot

Murder-suicide

Mystery in east Henrico deaths / Police say pair died in murder-suicide, but not who fired shots
By Bill Mckelway
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
Tuesday,April 21, 2009
Police won’t say who perpetrated what they call a murder-suicide

Henrico County police are declining to say who they believe fired fatal gunshots early
yesterday that killed a respected school-system worker and her husband in an apparent murder-suicide.

One of the couple’s four children notified police of the shootings through a neighbor just after 6 a.m. William M. Abruzzese Jr., 58, and his wife, Ellen, 42, and their three youngest children lived at the home in the 6400 block of Cookes Farm Drive in far eastern Henrico County.

“She was an awesome person with a wonderful loving family,” said Tammy Gastrell, president of the Seven Pines Elementary School PTA.

“She was president of the Seven Pines PTA from 2002 through 2004 and fought through cancer during that, even though she’d lost her hair. Her youngest son and my son were best friends. We’re praying for them all.”

School officials declined comment about Ellen Abruzzese, who worked with the Henrico Education Foundation. Foundation officials said Abruzzese was a school-system employee.

Counselors were available at county schools in eastern Henrico, where the Abruzzeses lived with two daughters, 18 and 16, and a son, 10. An older son is 20 and apparently was not at home.

“Our thoughts and support are with the family at this difficult time,” said school-system spokesman Mychael Dickerson.

Court documents and interviews yesterday suggest that the couple had been battling through difficult circumstances.

William Abruzzese pleaded no contest to three felony forgery counts April 14 stemming from fraudulent vouchers he submitted for teaching homebound students.

“I’m sure the prospect of being guilty of a felony was devastating to him,” said Henrico prosecutor Paul Cushman. “Still, the news today is shocking.”

Steven Benjamin, Abruzzese’s lawyer, said his client likely wouldn’t have received prison time at sentencing in June. “There was nothing that made me concerned about his welfare,” Benjamin said. “It’s sad and it’s tragic.”

Court records in Henrico show that Abruzzese had filed for divorce in September 2003, alleging that his wife was having an affair despite a written reconciliation in which she promised to break off the relationship and he promised to be a more attentive husband and father.

“I will communicate with my wife and children in a truthful and honest manner,” Abruzzese swore before a notary public June 12, 2003, promising not to verbally abuse his family. The affair, his wife swore, “has ended and will not continue.”

“As far as I know they had settled their differences and were moving on as a family,” said Steve Dalton, who represented the husband. A court order dismissing the proceeding was entered in October 2004.

The family home had been on the market for more than six months, said Realtor Dean Cobb, and the price had fallen about $50,000, settling at $301,000 about three weeks ago.

“We’ve had only one showing, but there was no indication that anyone was in a hurry or that there was anything wrong,” he said. “Every conversation I had with her was friendly and upbeat.”

May 7 would have been the couple’s 21st wedding anniversary.

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or .

Staff writer Lisa Crutchfield contributed to this report.