Five children orphaned before Christmas as Blase Raia shoots wife, Brooke Raia, before committing suicide in a tragic incident at their Altoona home.
Just days before Christmas, five children were tragically orphaned after their father, Blase Raia, shot their mother, Brooke Raia, before taking his own life in a suspected murder-suicide near Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Local tradesman Blase Raia, 39, and his 34-year-old wife, Brooke Raia, were discovered in a disturbing scene at their home in Altoona on Tuesday evening.
Logan Township Police Chief Dave Hoover informed the Altoona Mirror that officers believe Blase shot his wife in the head with a handgun after a ‘domestic dispute’ in the basement of their residence on the 600 block of South Dartmouth Lane.
The incident unfolded while four of the couple’s children were at home, and their eldest son found the distressing scene upon returning from work. The police were alerted around 7:30 pm.
State police documented the scene with photographs, subsequently handed over to Logan Township PD, and the coroner’s office removed the bodies that same evening.
Logan officers have been interviewing the minor children, consisting of a daughter named Blakely and four sons named Blase Jr, Brennan, Kamden, and Easton, along with others who interacted with the couple before their tragic demise. Kamden and Easton were Brooke’s two sons from a previous relationship.
While investigating the motive, Hoover stated that police have not ruled out the possibility of third-party involvement.
Brooke Raia, formerly Zimmerman, was described as a devoted mother who worked two jobs to support her children, managing a local chiropractor’s office and working shifts at an Amazon warehouse. Blase, a machinist gang-leader at Norfolk Southern’s Juniata Locomotive Shop, enjoyed motorcycles, drag racing, hunting, bowling, and spending time with his children.
Friends and colleagues expressed shock at the incident, remembering Blase as a ‘nice guy’ and ‘a good worker.’ A GoFundMe page created by a friend, Donny Algieri, has raised nearly $60,000 for the five orphaned children. The Blair County Children, Youth, and Family Services have placed the children with other family members.