The murder-suicide in Aurora this weekend is a sad and strange story. Jason Dotson apparently killed his wife Tracie in their home with three children present. One of them called 911 to report fighting between the couple when the gunshots were fired. Mr. Dotson is a former Denver prosecutor who was fired from a job at a law firm about 18 months ago. He and his wife were in the process of investing $700,000 in a Goodfellas restaurant set to open next month in Denver. The restaurant is part of a chain begun by ex-real life mobster Henry Hill. Two of the children are from Mrs. Dotson’s prior marriage, and the third is the couple’s child together. Jason Dotson’s brother also is a prosecutor, in Michigan. The only bright note in the sad tale is that Mrs. Dotson’s brother will seek to keep the children together and has offered to raise them.

James Alexander, Tracie’s ex-husband, told 9News on Saturday that he would seek custody of all three children. “My job is to help these children, to be a good parent,” Alexander said. “They are siblings, they need to be together, I am not leaving a child, I will do whatever I have to do, she will not be a ward of the state.”