Robert T. Nusser, 68-Year-Old Ohio Man Facing Eviction, Fatally Shoots Wife And Himself

Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their homes to the foreclosure crisis, and sadly some would rather face death than eviction.

Robert T. Nusser, 68, of Athens, Ohio reportedly shot his wife Paulette, 64, then turned the gun on himself the day after authorities ordered that he vacate his home, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Nusser made a 911 call early Monday morning to report a murder-suicide at his home, adding "I’m the one that caused it” before hanging up. Police arrived at the scene to find a fatal gunshot wound in each of the Nussers and a suicide note by Robert explaining that he didn't want to burden his family.

Tragically, as the foreclosure crisis has hit millions of Americans, eviction-related suicides have become more common. Just this week, Andrew Wordes of Georgia reportedly lit his house on fire while still inside when police arrived to evict him. Nicknamed the "Chicken Man," Wordes fell behind on his mortgage payments when he was jailed for property code violations related to the number of chickens he owned, the International Business Times reports.

Also this week, Kelli Sly, a 23-year-old Iowa mother, killed her toddler son before crashing her car headlong into a bridge support, The Daily Mail reports. Sly reportedly faced imminent eviction from her apartment, but had also struggled with a history of depression and domestic abuse, according to friends and relatives.

Others faced with the prospect of losing their homes have taken less self-destructive measures to avoid eviction. Civil rights activist Helen Bailey, 78, is now allowed to keep her home indefinitely thanks to a campaign led by Occupy Nashville and the Black Leadership Forum that brought national attention to her situation. Likewise, a terminally ill woman in Sacramento was granted permission by Bank of America to stay in her home last year when the bank's attempts to evict her were picked up by a local newspaper, The Sacramento Bee.

In one strange case, a suicide attempt in 2008 was actually responsible for saving one 90-year-old woman's Akron, Ohio home from foreclosure. After surviving two self-inflicted gunshot wounds, her lender Fannie Mae decided to sign the property "outright" to her, CNN reports.

Comments

[PigOnScene]

03:42 AM on 06/30/2012

We seem to want people alive and suffering as much as possible.

[carolgregor]

08:49 AM on 06/04/2012

This is the result of our leadership not holding these banks accountable for defrauding the public and destroying lives. How many innocent people will continue to suffer and how long will the President ignore them? This is a national crisis and no one cares. Stop all foreclosures now, save lives and regulate and punish the banks.
So sorry to the family of this man and wife.

[gmb007]

12:46 AM on 04/08/2012

So little in this 21st century world is consistent, reliable, the comfort of old familiarity.

Products change and come and go every single day. Even the tried-and-true are always getting makeovers, "new and improved" (they rarely, if ever. are). You never know what merger your bank is gonna make tomorrow, what brand new names, brand new policies, brand new fees.

It seems literally NOTHING stays the same.

Humans thrive on challenges and experiencing new things.

BUT they also very clearly must have a good amount of predictability and sameness to their lives.

There are very few things we can count on in 2012 - ones HOME should be one of the biggest.

[gmb007]

12:07 AM on 04/08/2012

WHY wasn't Main St. and Joe American bailed out instead of the criminal Wall Street that caused all this horrific mess?

[karen1p]

03:28 PM on 03/29/2012

Will Robert get the same outpouring of outrage that Treyvon received???

[Tom95134]

03:03 PM on 03/29/2012

Personally, I would have started at the mortgage company.

[nonethewyzzer]

01:53 PM on 03/29/2012

... and still, an average of 90% of troubled homeowners who seek mortgage modification are turned down by their bank.

[Carl Caroli]

11:00 AM on 03/29/2012

What kind of country have we become?

[IfIonlyknew]

11:43 AM on 03/29/2012

Just what you are seeing......A country were greed and lie's rule the land, "The Land of the enslave and The home of the scared, America"

[Musica1]

01:28 AM on 04/10/2012

I asked Huffington to run this story again. Check out the article on Mohamed Bouazizi from Tunisia in Wikipedia in 2010 where he set himself on fire and citizens acted!!!

I'm ashamed of what our country has become. America, a bunch of losers now.

[rkimball]

10:26 AM on 03/29/2012

After raising their property taxes 4 times in a two year period, a senior couple lost their paid off home over back taxes. This is becoming more common in my retirement community.

It's a shame. You work all you life, pay off your mortgage & you still get foreclosed on. A choice must be made, food, medication, heating or insurance. Something has to go if you are on fixed income.

More seniors are now showing up at overcrowded shelters. Some end up homeless on the street. Soup kitchens are overwhealmed & social services are tapped out.

[Tom95134]

03:08 PM on 03/29/2012

This kind of situation is what led to Proposition 13 here in California. People were being taxed out of homes that they had owned for years just because of the rising property values surrounding their home.

The bad thing here is that Proposition 13 was poorly crafted and ended up being applied to commercial property in addition to residential property. The end result has been that the tax base cities depend on to operate has been frozen and they have no money to provide even basic services. Proposition 13, a great idea gone wrong.

[PrairieGayCompanion]

12:09 AM on 04/08/2012

Higher property taxes and other local taxes are the effect of Republican controlled legislatures lowering tax rates and mismanaging state budgets as well as less federal money going to the states. Republicans like to tout lower income taxes, but essential services have to be paid for somehow.

[Prankster]

10:13 AM on 03/29/2012

When are the damned bankers and CEO's that caused this going to be brought to justice?

[georgemorris61]

09:57 AM on 03/29/2012

I don't care how bleak it looks there is nothing in this world I would kill myself or my family for, I was born in the early 50's in a basement 7 feet below the vaulted sidewalk. Life for me has always been hard, sometimes we need to look back and see how far we've come as a human being and not at how much we've accumulated. "Let us be living testimonies for America and what we believe, even in this time of doubt surrounded by liars and thieves".

[Debs Lockwood]

09:50 AM on 03/29/2012

This is beyond excusable , when people are killing themselves and families. Ohio, especially should be ashamed. Your tearing down foreclosed properties , a majority of these houses are livable and in fine condition. These homes could of been used to shelter people who lost their homes to foreclosure, half of which were taken illegally anyway! They deal could of been to live here you pay the taxes and keep the condition of the home up. No one loses! But instead this nightmare goes on. The bankers and wall street who caused this mess walk away free. PRICELESS! You should ALL be in jail .

[Disketta]

09:41 AM on 03/29/2012

Gee, do you think Mitt will find a funny story in this?

[edejan]

03:51 AM on 03/29/2012

The foreclosure crisis will NEVER be dealt with until every major news show lists EVERY DAY the number of suicides caused by foreclosures that day. This story of the destruction of the lives of so many Americans is being kept secret.

[kamact]

11:03 PM on 03/28/2012

Instead of harming yourself and loved ones, you could do the world a favor by administering justice to the top executives at the TBTF bankster entities,...Those sobs who profited pumping up the mortgage bubble and in shorting the market,....and in being bailed out by your taxpayers' money,....So get them!

[TruelyFedUp]

09:56 AM on 03/29/2012

You'd be guaranteed room, meals and medical for the rest of your life...