“In no way, shape, or form do I believe that something positive will emerge from this tragedy. I’m sorry, but I can’t and won’t accept it.”
After a terrible occurrence that stole the lives of four members of their family, a mother and son had only one other to count on for support. Loretta Traynor, the mother, will have to live the rest of her life knowing that her own brother was responsible for her husband’s and their three lovely children’s deaths.
Loretta, 50, sat in her wheelchair just a few feet away from the four caskets of her husband and children at their burial, telling CBC that they were “taken too soon, too violently, and without warning.”
“In no way, shape, or form do I believe that something positive will emerge from this tragedy. I’m sorry, but I can’t and won’t accept it “According to CTV News, she stated this while standing next to her sole surviving son, Sam.
Loretta was seriously hurt by the shooter, Mitchell Lapa, when her family was killed. According to Durham Regional Police, Mitchell, Loretta’s brother, entered their house in Oshawa, Canada “uninvited” before shooting the family down, as reported by the Toronto Sun.
“In this event, Lapa was the single shooter, and he died as a consequence of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” police added.
Mitchell killed the rest of Loretta’s family but purposefully left his sister injured, according to a family acquaintance. “They’re alleging Mitchell killed Loretta’s entire family and just harmed her enough that she had to survive without the rest of her family,” the buddy explained.
The acquaintance said, “While talking about Mitchell, “Mitchell was always in and out of trouble as a youngster, even though he was a couple of years younger than me. And it was from the perspective of a youngster who could see it all those years ago. What I’m hearing doesn’t surprise me… He had a mental illness.”
According to CBC, Loretta and her children acquired the majority of their father’s assets following his death, but her brother, Mitchell, was mostly excluded. He intended to avenge his sister by abducting her husband, Chris, and their children, who had been married to her for nearly 20 years.
Mitchell has left Loretta distraught by the loss of her three children, 20-year-old Bradley, 15-year-old Adelaide, and 11-year-old Joseph, who were killed in a horrific attack on Loretta’s family. Sam, her oldest son, escaped the attack since he was not at home at the time.
Loretta remarked after their funeral, “They were the best of me.” “I’ve lost a lot of the things that make me a better person.”
Loretta stated, as reported by CTV News, in her passionate eulogy, “I’m happy to be Chris’ wife. I adore him with all of my heart and soul. Bradley’s mother, I am ecstatic. He was one of the most kind souls ever to walk the face of the world. And I’m really proud to be Adelaide’s mother. Her heart beat with the purity of gold. And I’m really proud to be Joey’s mother. He was naive and content, yet he had the most ambitious goals of any of us.”
“My final words to each of them were that I loved them,” the bereaved mother continued.
“The happiness that they offered us is stronger than any evil,” her oldest son, Sam, who was not at home during the brutal shooting that murdered his family members, told CBC.
“I wish with all my heart that it could have been longer and that we could have all gone through life together,” Sam said, wishing his father had been present at his graduation and that he could have spent more time with his siblings.
Loretta addressed the service attendees at St. Mary of the People Parish in Oshawa that the death of her husband and children has taken her to “dark places,” according to CTV News. However, she said, “…what I need to take with me is the brightness that I’ve discovered from all of you. You’ve given me a window into my family’s lives that I didn’t have before, and I’ll be eternally thankful.”