A 10-year-old son of a woman who shot her two children and then killed
herself during a police standoff at a Texas welfare office died on
Thursday, a day after his sister succumbed to her wounds.
Timothy Grimmer died Thursday evening at a San Antonio hospital after he
was removed from life support, Laredo police investigator Joe Baeza
said. His sister Ramie, 12, who authorities say was also shot by mother
Rachelle Grimmer, died Wednesday night at the same hospital.
Their father, Dale Grimmer, spent time at his son's bedside Thursday
before consulting with doctors and deciding to pull Timothy off of life
support, said Mary Lee Shepherd, the children's grandmother.
"He spent hours with Ramie and finally had to let her go," Shepherd
said. "He's just concentrating on saying goodbye to his children."
Their mother, 38-year-old Rachelle Grimmer, shot the children Monday and
then killed herself, ending a seven-hour standoff at the Texas
Department of Health and Human Services office in Laredo. Authorities
say she had asked to speak to a caseworker about why her food stamps
application had been rejected and pulled a gun after being taken to a
private room to speak.
Police say Grimmer let the roughly two dozen people in the building
besides her children leave unharmed. During the standoff, she rattled
off a litany of complaints about government, Baeza said.
The family had been living in a rundown trailer park, and Rachelle
Grimmer had been seeking food stamps since July, shortly after they
moved to Texas from Ohio.
The state Health and Human Services Commission released a timeline on
Thursday of its contact with Rachelle Grimmer dating back to July 7,
when Grimmer submitted an application for benefits.
At that point Grimmer was told she would not qualify for "emergency
benefits," in which documentation requirements are postponed, because
she said she received child support that exceeded her expenses for rent
and utilities.
A caseworker interviewed Rachelle Grimmer July 22 to see if she was
eligible for benefits. She was told then that she must provide
documentation of her income, in this case child support.
"We closed the case on Aug. 8 because we hadn't received proof of her
income," agency spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said in an email. "If we
had that, it's quite likely she would have been eligible for benefits."
On Nov. 16, Rachelle Grimmer called the agency's ombudsman to ask that
someone look into her case. On Dec. 1, an agency supervisor called
Grimmer, but got no answer and the voice mailbox was full.
Dale and Rachelle Grimmer divorced six or seven years ago, Shepherd
said. Dale Grimmer flew to San Antonio Wednesday with his brother and
father. She described him as shocked and devastated.
Shepherd said her former daughter-in-law had a history of mental illness
and Dale Grimmer tried three times to have the children removed from
her custody while they were living in Anaconda, Mont., and Ohio with no
results.
"Many, many times he tried to tell people what was happening and nobody would listen," Shepherd said.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services could not immediately verify her claims on Thursday.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reported finding two cases Wednesday involving Grimmer and her children.
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