Andrew Robinson, who shot and killed his wife and 12-year-old son before turning the gun on himself last week, was having trouble sleeping and seeking treatment for physical and mental health issues, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, we will never have all the answers of why this horrendous incident occurred,” Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe said in a statement. “However, some of the ‘why’ has been answered, and we hope it provides some closure for the extended family and everyone else affected.”
Investigators learned of Andrew Robinson’s medical problems through interviews with friends and relatives. Tucker’s office released additional details, including officers who were first to arrive at the scene at 3:18 a.m. saw Linda Robinson, 55, lying in a hallway off the kitchen through a window and decided to make a forced entry into the house at 42 Porter Road.
Once inside, police found Andrew Robinson dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the $2 million home’s family room. Sebastian, 12, was found in the kitchen. All three were dead when officers arrived.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 9-8-8 or the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741 anytime.
Massachusetts also has multilingual, toll-free, statewide, 24/7 domestic violence hotlines: SafeLink, 877-785-2020; HAWC, 1-800-547-1649; YWCA, 844-372-9922; and the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, 978-388-1888.
“While we can never know everything going on inside someone’s home or mind, we’re absolutely clear domestic violence can’t be tolerated for any reason, and that there’s a mental health crisis in our country,” Tucker said. “Our office works daily to address each problem, and I urge those in need – and those who care about them – to reach out to us, the state government and outside groups for support. No one should feel alone as they cope with these problems.”
Police believe Sebastian was yelling on a 911 call police received at 3:09 a.m. on Feb. 9. Tucker said the voices on the call were difficult to understand, but there were loud smashing sounds investigators now believe were gunshots.
Andrew Robinson legally purchased and registered the 9mm Sig Sauer handgun he used in the killings. His license to carry had expired on Feb. 1, 2022.
Andrew Robinson Was A ‘Control Freak’
Roger Arsenault, the uncle of 55-year-old Linda Robinson, told the Boston Globe his niece’s husband was a Dartmouth College graduate who was intelligent, but also a “control freak” who kept to himself.
“He really didn’t want anybody talking to him,” Arsenault told the newspaper.
Peter Kanarian, Andrew Robinson’s stepfather, said his stepson “worshiped” 12-year-old Sebastian after the boy was born. In recent years, the family grew increasingly private, and both Andrew and Linda’s families had rarely seen them since the coronavirus pandemic.
“They went out and bought a big freezer and filled it with food, they hooked up the house with electrical generators,” Linda’s father, Joseph Hachey, said earlier this month. “No family meetings. I would ask my son, ‘Have you seen your sister?’ And he would say [jokingly], ‘Who?’ Linda went into hibernation’.”
Mark DiSalvo, Linda’s longtime friend and boss before she left the workforce at the start of the pandemic, called the isolation a “mutual judgement” by the couple. “It was very evident for both Linda and for Drew, that there was a level of intimacy that they would not afford a whole lot of people,” DiSalvo said.
More coverage on Andover News:
- Mother, Son To Be Laid To Rest
- Investigators Search For Answers In Andover Killings
- Obituary: Linda Robinson, Devoted Mother
- Obituary: Sebastian Robinson, Gifted Writer, Student
- Schools Offer Resources To Discuss Andover Killings
- Report: Slain Andover Mom Was ‘Angelic As They Come‘
- 12-Year-Old Killed In Andover Murder-Suicide Was A ‘Gentle Soul’
The couple married in 2007. It was the second marriage for both, and Sebastian was born four years after they married. Friends and family described Linda as a loving mother who doted on the boy, but also struggled to balance motherhood with a career in finance.
“The Linda that I was married to was a wonderful person,” her first husband, Sean Quinn said. “I was shocked and deeply saddened by the news.”
Photo: Andrew and Linda Robinson at Sebastian’s First Communion at St. Augustine’s in Andover.
For more on this story, see the Boston Globe.