A tragic incident occurred in Duluth, Minnesota, where 46-year-old Anthony Nephew shot and killed his wife, ex-partner, and two children following the November 5 election that brought President-elect Donald Trump into office. Authorities, speaking to the New York Post on Sunday, revealed that Nephew had shown signs of anger over Trump’s election win.
Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa confirmed on Friday that Nephew had a “pattern of mental health issues.” This statement came the day after police discovered five dead individuals inside two homes in the city. The first crime scene revealed the bodies of Erin Abramson, 47, Nephew’s ex-partner, and their 15-year-old son, Jacob Nephew, who had been killed by gunshot wounds. Authorities then identified Anthony Nephew as a suspect and found his wife, Kathryn Nephew, 45, and their 7-year-old son, Oliver Nephew, also dead from gunshot wounds in their home nearby.
Before the killings, Anthony Nephew had posted numerous left-wing and anti-Trump messages on his Facebook account. In July, he expressed feelings of despair, writing, “My mental health and the world can no longer peacefully coexist, and a lot of the reason is religion.” Nephew further shared disturbing thoughts, stating he was “terrified of religious zealots inflicting their misguided beliefs on me and my family,” even imagining himself “burned at the stake as a witch or crucified on a burning cross.”
In another post, Nephew criticized Republicans for “making it harder for women to leave” abusive relationships, referencing The Handmaid’s Tale, a series depicting women stripped of rights and forced to reproduce. He wrote, “Gilead here we come,” referring to the totalitarian regime in the series. Additionally, Nephew shared a political post with images of Barack Obama, Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris, labeling Trump’s face with the word “hate” and the faces of the Democrats with “hope,” “heal,” and “grow.” As an Independent voter, he lamented, “Not that anyone cares, but as an Independent voter, I would really like to see both the political parties in our country pick better candidates.”
Nephew had previously opened up about his mental health struggles, warning in a 2021 op-ed for the Duluth News Tribune, “For millions of Americans, a breakdown leads to suicide — or homicide before suicide.”
He criticized how mental health issues are often stigmatized, ignored, or treated as burdens, writing, “Americans deny they have mental health struggles — because they have to, because they’re told to, or because they don’t realise their mind is broken.”
Police in Duluth have not yet determined a motive for the killings, but have assured there is no ongoing threat to the community.
