2 children, man dead after stabbing at mobile home on horse ranch; Murder-suicide suspected

Stabbing occurred northeast of Colorado Springs

Ryan Willhite

Nearly 4-year-old Ryan Willhite was stabbed to death with his little sister on Feb. 13, 2013, in a trailer at a Falcon horse ranch.
(Photo courtesy: Facebook)
None

falcon stabbing scene 3_1360859671655.jpg


(Photo courtesy: Tyler Lopez)
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

falcon stabbing scene 2_1360859674695.jpg


(Photo courtesy: Tyler Lopez)
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

falcon shooting scene 4_1360859671784.jpg


(Photo courtesy: Tyler Lopez)
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

falcon stabbing scene_1360854849728.jpg


Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

falcon road block_1360854849700.jpg


Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Posted: 02/14/2013
Last Updated: 124 days ago

FALCON, Colo. - Two children and an adult male suspect are dead after a stabbing at a mobile home on a El Paso County horse ranch.

Authorities arrived at the home near East Woodmen Road and Mohawk Road shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Police told 7NEWS they found 19-month-old Scarlett Gallagher dead inside. The second child, Ryan Willhite, who was almost 4 years old, was taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries early Thursday.

An adult male suspect, 22-year-old Ethan Courrau, was also rushed to the hospital, but did not survive.  Investigators believe Courrau may have stabbed the children and then stabbed himself.

"We primarily have information that would suggest that most of these events occurred in a trailer on the property," said Lt. Jeff Kramer with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "However [there are a] the number of outbuildings we need to make sure we work through."

A sign on the property reads "Remington Ranch," but sources told 7NEWS the horse broker is marketed online as Gypsy Horse Connection. The horse ranch is in a rural area between Falcon and Colorado Springs.

A source told 7NEWS Reporter Tyler Lopez the ranch owner is Candi Kane, the victims' maternal grandmother.

A neighbor told 7NEWS the children lived with their mother, Katie Kane, in the trailer on the grandmother's property. The deceased suspect, Ethan Courrau, was Katie's boyfriend. He  wrote on his Facebook page that he became friends with Katie Kane in July 2012.

It's unclear where the children's mother was during the stabbing but according to police radio traffic, the children's mother came running out of the trailer, telling her mom that the children were dead. She later reported that Courrau had slit his own throat after the stabbings, according to police radio traffic.

Two sources told 7NEWS it appeared to them that the mobile home on the property had no heat or electricity.

A private biohazard clean-up truck was on the property Thursday morning.

The neighbor said the Kane family is terribly distraught and beside themselves with grief. The family doesn't know how they'll pay for the children's funerals, the neighbor added.

At Courrau's family home in Monument, a note taped to the front door read, "Please do not disturb. Family is unavailable."

Courrau's mother, Beth Courrau, is a former employee of the Colorado Springs Gazette and provided the newspaper with this statement:

"It is impossible to wrap our minds around this. There are so many unanswered questions of which we may never know the answers. We loved our son deeply. Ethan struggled with being bipolar I, and as his parents we actively helped him seek medical treatment. We had an open dialogue and regularly discussed the challenges of the disease and the importance of treatment. The details of what transpired last night remain unclear and we cannot comment further until the investigation is complete."

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Report a typo or inaccuracy

If you have a news tip or a follow-up to this story, e-mail us.

Trending Now