Shocking suicide letters left behind by a South Dakota mother are helping police uncover the horrific motive for why she shot and killed her husband and son before turning the gun on herself.
On the morning of September 26, police found the bodies of 38-year-old Rob Hoover, seven-year-old Zachary Hoover and 35-year-old Stephanie Hoover inside their Lennox home.
Police said Stephanie wrote numerous suicide letters to her family before murdering her husband of 11 years and one of their sons.
In a 19-page letter left for Stephanie’s parents, the mother-of-four apologized for ruining her ‘perfect family’ before explaining why she felt she had to kill her husband and young son, the Argus Leader reports.
‘Dear Mom (& Dad). I owe you an explanation. I’ve done something that I’m so sorry for and so ashamed of, and it has cost me my family and future,’ she wrote.
Stephanie Hoover, pictured with her husband Rob, wrote a 19-page suicide letter detailing why she killed him and their seven-year-old son
Police found the bodies of Rob Hoover, 38; Zachary Hoover, 7; and Stephanie Hoover, 35, in their South Dakota home on September 26
Stephanie also killed their seven-year-old son Zachary, writing in the letter that he had behavioral issues and she could better take care of him in Heaven
Stephanie then went on to explain how she had embezzled at least $80,000 from her employer over the last three-and-a-half years.
‘I know it’s a lot and didn’t go to anything extravagant. We financed our cars & camper and vacations and furniture were paid by tax returns and house sale. It’s just amazing how fast money flies out of the account for bills and other expenses,’ the first page of the letter read. ‘I’ve never been able to find a balance – I work more and have to pay more daycare. I work less and don’t have enough money.’
Stephanie said she was struggling with how to balance work and taking care of her family and feared she would go to prison when she learned that her job, Southridge Healthcare, was being audited.
Stephanie, who worked as an accounts receivable specialist, said she had sought advice from a lawyer and was told she could spend up to 15 years in prison for grand theft.
According to the letter, she was worried that if she went to prison her husband, a group home manager for Southeastern Behavioral Health in Sioux Falls, would not be able to provide for the family.
According to the suicide-letter, Stephanie felt that Rob would not be able to take care of or provide financially for their children without her
Rob’s father said Stephanie’s claims in the letter are ‘totally incorrect’ and he still does not understand why she had to kill Rob and Zachary. Rob is pictured above with one of his children
Stephanie and Rob Hoover had been married for 11 years. She wrote in the letter that he was unaware she had stolen $80,000 from her job
Stephanie told her parents in the letter that she was having a rough time trying to balance work and the pressure of taking care of her family. She said the more she worked, the more she had to spend
Stephanie worked as an accounts receivable specialist for , Southridge Healthcare. Her husband was a group home manager
‘Rob can’t take care of the kids alone, let alone provide for them,’ she wrote, citing his parenting skills and fiances. ‘They’d lose the house and have nothing.’
In another portion of the letter Stephanie wrote about Zachary’s behavior issues. She said her seven-year-old son, who was a twin, was a ‘beautiful soul’ but ‘a struggle to deal with’.
‘He’s better off with his momma in heaven where I can take care of him and be at peace,’ she wrote about the second-grader.
The letter also told her parents to make sure her remaining three children – Ashton, 10; Mason, 7; and Madelyn, 1 – know how loved they are.
‘The kids will be in pain (and so will you) but it WILL get better! It has to! Do NOT let this pain darken the rest of your life and theirs!’ she wrote to her parents. ‘Please don’t let them know what I’ve done if possible, or try to explain. I’m not a monster – I just wanted my kids to be cared for and loved.’
She continued: ‘I’m sorry for what this does to you guys. You gave us everything – I had the perfect family, house, everything – and I ruined it all. I pray that you can forgive me.’
Detectives said Stephanie came up with her plan roughly two months before that fateful September 26 day.
A few days before the murder-suicide took place, police said she convinced her husband to update their wills to state that if something were to happen to both of them her parents would become trustees, personal representatives and the guardians of their children.
After their wills were changed, she went out and bought a gun.
The night before the killings, police said Stephanie dropped her one-year-old daughter off at parents’ house saying she and Rob had to work early the next day. The morning of September 26, she took Ashton and Mason to school, leaving Zachary at home.
Police said Rob Hoover was shot three times while he was standing in the kitchen of their home. He was pronounce dead at the scene
Authorities said seven-year-old Zachary was on the couch with headphones on and playing a game when Stephanie shot him four times
Police are still investigating the murder-suicide and said Stephanie also left letters for her brothers, investigators and her three remaining children
In the letter to her parents, Stephanie asked them to make sure her children know how much they are loved and apologized for ruining her ‘perfect’ family
According to the investigators, Stephanie shot her husband three times while he was standing at their kitchen counter. Police said Zachary was on the couch wearing headphones and playing a game when he was shot four times.
Both father and son were later pronounced dead at the scene.
After shooting Rob and Zachary, police said Stephanie packed up various items she thought her other three children would need, placed them in her van and left the vehicle parked in the driveway of her mother’s home, about half-mile away.
Stephanie was seen that morning walking from her parents’ house back to her Lennox home. Once she was back at her house, detectives said Stephanie sent her mom a text message telling her to call 911 and not to come to the home.
Within minutes, both police and Stephanie’s mom were at the house. Police said she was already dead when they arrived.
Bob Hoover, Rob’s father, told Argus Leader that he does not understand why Stephanie had to kill his son and grandson. He said her reasoning that Rob wouldn’t be able to take care of the kids because of parenting skills or finances was ‘totally incorrect’.
‘There are so many people that knew him, and that is what gets us through,’ Rob’s mother, Deb, added. ‘The good memories. The happy stuff that we hold onto.’
Detectives said the other suicide letters Stephanie left were for her remaining three children, her brothers, and for investigators.
Police are still investigating the murder-suicide. Lincoln County Sheriff Dennis Johnson told the outlet that once the audit at Stephanie’s workplace closes he hopes both families will be able to ‘move on and heal’.
‘This audit – I think what that’s going to do is pretty much confirm what we already know,’ he said.