Grandmother, four children coping with tragic homicide in San Carlos Park

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – The grandmother of four young children who were left behind after their parents were found dead on Friday morning is now trying to pick up the pieces.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye to him, he didn’t tell me. I didn’t have any idea,” Tammy Rawson cried.

Rawson says on Friday morning her 32-year-old son, Jeremiah Johnston, shot himself after allegedly shooting his wife Melanie outside of their home in Sheltering Pines Mobile Home Park. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed that.

Rawson says her son suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and they had an appointment that morning to see a doctor.

“For years I kept saying something bad would happen if they didn’t do something. I thought he would hurt himself but I didn’t think he would hurt anybody else,” said Rawson.

Jeremiah and Melanie had been together for 15 years and had four children. The youngest just turned one. Rawson says the two would have done anything for their kids, but now she’s struggling to find a way to tell them what happened.

“They know that mommy and daddy are gone. They know they’re gone, they know they’re in heaven,” Rawson said. “They know daddy was sick and that mommy and daddy love them very much.”

Rawson is now busy signing custody papers for her grandchildren and planning a memorial service, all while still overcome with grief.

“He didn’t say, ‘I love you, Mom.’ He didn’t say anything. I didn’t get to hug him, I didn’t get to tell him I love him,” said Rawson.

An account has been set up to support their four children. To donate, you can click on this link.