ALTOONA, PA – Five children have lost their parents just days prior to Christmas in a devastating murder-suicide incident. Blase and Brooke Raia, aged 39 and 34 respectively, were found in their Pennsylvania home on Tuesday night.
Blase Raia, a local tradesman, is believed to have shot his wife in the head before committing suicide, according to Logan Township Police Chief, Dave Hoover. The incident occurred in the basement of the couple’s home in the 600 block of South Dartmouth Lane, following a domestic dispute.
While four of the children were present in the house at the time, the fifth one arrived shortly after. Police attended the scene around 7:30 pm after a call for assistance.
Upon arrival, state police made a thorough examination of the house and collected photographic evidence which was then handed over to the Logan Township Police Department. The bodies of the couple were subsequently removed by the coroner’s office.
Police officials, while interviewing the children and people who interacted with the couple prior to the event, are still focusing their attention on retracing the day’s activities. However, the possibility of third-party involvement still isn’t completely ruled out.
Brooke Raia, a mother highly regarded for her compassion, was working two jobs to take care of her five children. She kept herself involved in family activities and her boys, Kamden and Easton, were her utmost priority. Her love for vacations, the beach, Caribbean and watching the Braves in Atlanta is fondly remembered through her obituary.
Her husband, Blase Raia, was employed as the gang-leader of a machinist team at the Juniata Locomotive Shop of Norfolk Southern. Jim Patterson, a former colleague, had described him as a nice person hugely liked by his coworkers.
The Raia children are currently looked after by other family members after the tragic event.