Nevada Dad Kills Sons Then Himself, Grieving Mom Opens Up About The Murder-Suicide

Reno, Nevada, dad Robertson White Deane killed his sons and then himself after sending his estranged wife a chilling text message. Ashley Deane has now decided to share details about the murder-suicide in an effort to bring more awareness about the effects of depression.

Eight months ago, Ashely Deane, 28, saw her son her oldest son, Jacob, 7, and his brother, Austin, 2, for the last time. Deane had dropped the boys off to spend the weekend with their 36-year-old father.

Ashley and Robertson had decided to separate, and she and the boys had been staying at her grandfather’s home for the four days leading up to the Nevada murder-suicide.

“I could hear the boys playing inside,” Ashley said during an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I didn’t want to upset them with leaving so I didn’t say goodbye.” Deane said she gave her husband a hug before leaving, but added that the couple got into an argument via text message as she left for a weekend away to Sacramento with a female friend. Deane is now in a reportedly in a relationship with Tanya Trader.

Ashley said that she became worried after the conversation with her estranged husband became heated. She called her mother to go to the home and check on her sons. She said that before she had put the phone down from calling her mother, she received a messahe that read, “The boys are dead and so am I.”

She was standing in an IKEA store when the text about the murder-suicide came through. In a panic, she accidentally knocked over a stack of glasses as she dialed 911.

“It was 911 in Sacramento so they were trying to connect me to Reno but it was all so confusing,” Deane said.

When the Reno police officer arrived at the Deane home, around 4 p.m., it was already too late to save the little boys. Both of the children were found shot to death in the bathroom. Robertson Deane’s body was found several feet from his revolver in the master bedroom.

Ashley Deane said that while she initially felt intense anger towards her husband for killing their sons, she is now working past that emotion in counseling.

“I was angry at him, but that doesn’t do any good. It doesn’t bring my boys back,” she said. “His parents and I tried to help, but there’s no right or wrong way when someone is depressed. I want people to know we had a happy family life. The boys were happy and adored their father. He was their father and he loved them. I never thought he could do something like this. Why would I marry someone or have kids with someone I thought could do this?”

Deane says she does not hide reminders of her husband and sons, but keeps photos and others items in full view to remember them and to help keep the good memories alive.

“Though our marriage had its struggles this day still marks a time stamp of a happy day,” Deane recently posted alongside a photo of their wedding day, on social media. She and her husband’s parents have reportedly stayed close, and celebrated Father’s Day together. Ashley also told the media that her husband survived cancer as a child and struggled with arthritis pain.

Ashley and Rob Deane met on Myspace in 2006, and met soon after for a BBQ at his home.

“He asked a lot of questions about me,” she said. “He seemed to be really interested, which really caught my attention.”

Several months after dating, the two moved in together and conceived Jacob later the same year. The baby was born nine months after the pair had married.

[Images via Facebook]