NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson’s in-laws were found dead on Monday in a suspected murder-suicide.
The parents of Johnson’s wife Chandra Janway, along with the seven-time champion’s 11-year-old nephew, were found shot to death in their Muskogee, Oklahoma, home late Monday, the New York Post reported. Jack Janway, 69, his wife Terry, 68, and their grandson Dalton were found in what authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide.
Reports indicate that it was Johnson’s mother-in-law, Terry, who shot and killed her husband and grandson before calling 911 to report that someone had a gun before quickly hanging up. She then turned the gun on herself and took her own life, police said according to the New York Post.
Police arrived at the home to find a body lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They then heard gunshots and pulled the body out of the home before asking anyone else inside to come out, the Post reported. They found the other two bodies in a different part of the house.
Police have not said which bodies were found where.
Johnson was scheduled to race at a street event in Chicago this weekend, but has withdrawn due to the tragedy.
Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman told Fox 23 that he knew the family, since Jack was a prominent chiropractor in the town.
“It was traumatizing to find out that a long-standing family who had made so many contributions to our community were involved in this type of incident. It was even more bone-chilling to find out there was a child involved,” Coleman told the outlet. “I knew Dr. Janway. Dr. Janway has worked on me, we’ve been acquaintances for a very, very long time since I’ve been in Muskogee. Just knowing that it was him and his family took a different toll on me.”
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This is not the first tragedy suffered by the Janway family.
In 2014, Jordan Janway, Chandra’s younger brother, was killed in a skydiving accident, KNSD-TV reported at the time. Jordan was described by the outlet as a seasoned skydiver who died following a midair collision. Jordan’s death came just hours after Johnson finished second in a race at Martinsville Speedway.
“The Johnsons are saddened by the tragic passing of Chandra’s brother, Jordan Janway, 27,” the family said in a post on Johnson’s personal website. “Jordan was an incredible son, brother, uncle and friend and will be dearly missed. Please keep the Janway family in your thoughts and prayers. The family asks for privacy at this time.”
The cause of Jordan’s death was attributed to a chip that should have automatically deployed his parachute during an emergency undergoing maintenance and not in his parachute that day. Since Jordan had completed more than 1,000 skydives, he was not required to have the chip with him and had chosen to jump without it.
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