A Philadelphia-area man suspected of killing his wife in front of their young children before fleeing to New York with the kids -- prompting an Amber Alert -- ended his life along a dead-end street, investigators say.
In the hours leading up to his apparent suicide, 32-year-old Keith Belajonas shot his wife, Christina Corrigan-Belajonas, in their suburban Philadelphia home and held his brother up at gunpoint at a Staten Island pharmacy, before ditching his kids at the drug store, according to police.
The boys, ages 4- and 5-years-old, appeared to be physically unharmed when their father dropped them off and are now in the custody of the suspect's mother, according to officials.
Belajonas' alleged rampage began shortly before police first arrived at his home -- described by Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood as a filthy second-floor apartment -- on the 200 block of Abbey Terrace in Drexel Hill around 2:30 a.m.
Neighbors told police they heard loud fighting followed by a gun shot.
Responding officers found Corrigan-Belajonas dead of multiple stab wounds and a gunshot wound to the head. Her young sons most certainly witnessed the gruesome killing, according to Chitwood.
"One of the children states, 'Is mommy dead? Is mommy dead?' and out the door they go," Chitwood said. "Apparently the older of the two is telling everybody about 'Daddy killed Mommy' type thing. So obviously that's very traumatic for them."
As police began to gather clues at the murder scene, Belajonas was already on his way to Staten Island in a gray Nissan Pathfinder with Pennsylvania tag JDH7477 with his sons in tow.
Fearing for the boys' safety, Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert around 4:30 a.m. The alert was later canceled.
A man matching Belajonas' description allegedly met his brother around 6:30 a.m. at his workplace, a CVS pharmacy along Victory Boulevard in Staten Island -- about a two-hour drive from the murder scene, according to Chitwood.
Belajonas then pulled out a gun, authorities said.
"He stuck up his own family member," Chitwood said.
He fled the Staten Island CVS in the Nissan Pathfinder with stolen beer, cigarettes and cash, but he left his young sons behind with their uncle, according to investigators.
A short time after Belajonas left CVS, SWAT teams descended on a nearby Staten Island dead-end street, where the suspect's Nissan Pathfinder was parked. Inside the SUV, police found Belajonas dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Authorities are investigating whether Belajonas was responsible for a social media posting about a dispute with the victim, Chitwood said.
"Had an argument with her. She was cheating on me. I won," the Facebook posting said, according to Chitwood.
Other social media posts appearing to belong to Belajonas show him with guns and contain content about his 2nd Amendment rights to own firearms.
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Authorities took Belajonas' children to a New York Hospital and then to child and youth services, according to investigators. The agency turned the young boys over to their paternal grandmother, but family members of Corrigan-Belajonas are upset with the decision, according to authorities.
Chitwood said Corrigan-Belajonas' father is heading to New York to obtain custody of the children.
Investigators remained on all three scenes Thursday as they secured search warrants and searched for more clues.
