Published: July 14, 2008 11:26 pm         

Deadly standoff started as domestic dispute

ROCKWOOD — A seven-hour standoff outside a Milford Township home that ended in suicide began with a sudden domestic dispute Sunday evening, police said.

Rex Younkin, 45, shot himself in his home, surrounded by state police snipers and a Special Emergency Response Team, who responded around 6:20 p.m. Sunday. Police found Younkin’s body around 2 a.m. Monday after hours of attempts to talk to him.

Younkin pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend, Roxanne Garrety, and said he would kill her and himself, according to an affidavit of probable cause, filed late Sunday in conjunction with charges against Younkin.

Garrety, 47, told police she came home from work around 5 p.m. Sunday and that she and Younkin were watching TV in their living room when Younkin headed to the basement, the affidavit says. Younkin returned with the shotgun and threatened Garrety, who grabbed a telephone and ran outside onto the rear deck, it says.

Younkin followed her, pointed the shotgun at her head and said he was going to kill her, according to the document. Nearby neighbors heard Garrety screaming and helped her escape.

State police said troopers saw Younkin retreating into the home when they arrived.

Trooper Scott Mackanick said no one else was in the home at the time, and the circumstances that motivated Younkin are unknown. Garrety was uninjured.

     

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