"Man’s spree eerily similar to father’s" by Elliot Spagat | Associated Press, August 13, 2013
SAN DIEGO — A man who died in a shoot-out with FBI agents Saturday had abducted a 16-year-old family friend and killed her mother and younger brother exactly 15 years after his father committed suicide, a family spokesman said Monday.
James Lee DiMaggio, 40, appears to have followed in his father’s footsteps in a carefully laid plan, said Andrew Spanswick, a friend who runs a behavioral treatment center in West Hollywood.
‘‘He clearly had a death wish,’’ Spanswick said.
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Lot of that going around I guess.
DiMaggio triggered a massive search in much of the Western United States and parts of Canada and Mexico for Hannah Anderson, who was rescued in Saturday’s shootout.
Spanswick said DiMaggio’s father disappeared exactly 15 years before the house was set on fire. James Everet DiMaggio was addicted to methamphetamine and had a troubled life marred by criminal activity, Spanswick said. His cause of death was listed as dehydration, but he consumed a large amount of methamphetamine intravenously and ‘‘walked into the desert,’’ he said.
The elder DiMaggio had been arrested after breaking into the home of his former girlfriend, wearing a ski mask and carrying a sawed-off shotgun and handcuffs, Spanswick said. The former girlfriend was not home, but DiMaggio held her 16-year-old daughter and her boyfriend at gunpoint. The girl escaped after asking to use the bathroom.
Spanswick said he confirmed details of the elder DiMaggio’s death and criminal history with Lora Robinson, James Lee DiMaggio’s sister and only surviving family member. Robinson, who has not responded to phone messages, asked Spanswick to serve as a family spokesman....
Spanswick said he alerted authorities Friday when Lora Robinson told him the date of her father’s death.
