Queens man shoots wife and kids in apparent murder-suicide

A Nassau county bus driver shot his wife and two daughters before putting the 9mm pistol to his head Monday morning in Queens. The apparent murder-suicide was accompanied by a note from the father, Mark
Bailey, apologizing for the acts of violence.

Police found four bodies with gunshot wounds to the head at 145-20 230th Place in Springfield Gardens; Bailey shot his wife and two daughters in their bedrooms, while he was discovered in a living
room chair. All four were shot using the same 9mm pistol.

Police sources say a note from Bailey was discovered in the kitchen, with the simple apology, “I am sorry. Love, Mark.”

Bailey’s family moved to the U.S. from Jamaica almost 20 years ago. Wife, Dionne, 42, was an assistant principal at Philip Randolph High School. His 19-year-old daughter Yonique was a student at Stony Brook
University, while 14-year-old Yolon attended Cardozo High School.

Family members feared something was wrong after Dionne Bailey’s sister and a co-worker, Dorrett Combs came by to give her a ride to work around 7 a.m., but she never showed up and no one answered the door or
phone. Her brother-in-law and a family friend were then called to check
on the home, and they called police after they were unable to get in.
The first officers to arrive left, saying they couldn’t do anything.

It was only then that Dionne’s brother-in-law peered into an open window and saw one of the deceased. “I looked in and saw someone under the covers,” he said. “I reached in and felt a leg and felt it was kind
of stiff.”

His friend saw blood on the pillow and called police back to the scene. The cops then kicked down the front door and found Mark Bailey dead in the a living room chair.

Dionne’s sister, Angela Brooks, said that the couple had had a fight recently, although she did not know what it was about. She said the argument prompted her sister to stay with a friend until she cooled off.