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The day after Easter, a small Ohio neighborhood called Hamilton awoke to the traumatic news that James Ruppert, then 41
The day after Easter, a small Ohio neighborhood called Hamilton awoke to the traumatic news that James Ruppert, then 41, had fatally shot 11 members of his family, including his mother, Charity; his brother, Leonard Jr.; his sister-in-law, Alma; and their eight children — Leonard III, 17; Michael, 16; Thomas, 15; Carol, 13; Ann, 12; David, 11; Teresa, 9; and John, 4 — in his mother’s home on Minor Avenue in the city’s Lindenwald neighborhood. James executed his mother, brother, sister-in-law, and each of their eight kids by shooting them point blank, starting with his brother Leonard. Next came Leonard’s wife, Alma, followed by James’ own mother, Charity. And, before either of the children could escape disaster, James shot and killed them, including four-year-old John Ruppert, the baby of the family. It only took him 5 minutes. Ruppert was convicted of two counts of murder and received a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for the other nine killings. He was sentenced to 1...