Cleveland podiatrist is shot dead by his two estranged sons (2024)

A Cleveland podiatrist who was murdered by his two adult sons had been threatened by them in the past.

Dr Richard Warn, 59, was found dead at his home by police on August 9 after his wife Jane returned from vacation.

On the day he was killed, Richard was supposed to be on vacation with Jane, but had been forced to return home early due to sickness.

His sons Michael Warn, 31, and Mark Warn, 29, reportedly killedhim before taking their own lives during a 12-hour standoff with a SWAT team.

Cops say Richard, who was shotfive to six times, had previously argued with at least one of his sons about money before his death.

There had been multiple clashes between Richard and his sons - who he seemed to financially support - over the years, including a chilling incident in 2015 when he shared a voicemail with police of one of his sons who threatened that his dad had better give him money or'Jehovah will be upset and might start burning s**t'.

He also told his father that 'people do crazy things when they do not get enough sleep'.

When Jane returned home on August 9, she realized she had forgotten her keys. She became worried when Warn, whose car was in the driveway, didn't answer the door.

She called 911 and police discovered the doctor had been shot dead less than 48 hours earlier. There were no signs of forced entry.

The next day investigators arrived at a second house Warn owned that was occupied by his two adult sons and located less than two miles away from where he lived.

Beachwood police officers also called on the help of a SWAT team to serve a search warrant on the home due to the violent nature of Warn's murder.

Someone inside the home fired a .223 rifle round at the officers. The force of the bullet was so strong it managed to crack the tank's bulletproof windshield, according toCleveland.com.

Officers tried to negotiate with the brothers inside the home but could not make contact throughout the standoff.

They cut off power at the home around 9.50pm and shut off the street lights in the evacuated neighborhood around 10.15pm.

They shot tear gas into the home and also sent a robot inside, discovering that no one was on the ground level.

The SWAT team then rammed its tank through the front part of the home and discovered both Michael and Mark were dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Authorities said Warn had not been in contact with his sons for at least a few weeks, if not months, before his death, despite the fact they lived in a home he owned and he used to do their basic household shopping for the pair.

There was a history of issues with the family, starting when Warn called police in 2004 and asked for advice on how to deal with tension between his three children.

Warn said problems had begun with his two teen sons and daughter after he divorced their mother and began dating another woman.

The officers referred him to local services for families in the area.

A year later, someone from the home called police again. An officer arrived at the house and found Warn arguing with his son Mark about an Xbox.

The family did not call the police again until 2015, when Jane called 911 from inside the bathroom of her home and said she heard voices inside the house.

Officers and Warn arrived at the scene and discovered his sons in the living room. The men said they had gone to the home in search of hats.

Warn told the police that Mark and Michael were not allowed to be at his home without permission, but declined to press charges.

But three hours later, Warn called the police and played a voicemail he had received from Michael just two days before.

The doctor's son can be heard threatening his father to give him money or else 'Jehovah will be upset and might start burning s**t'.

He also told his father that 'people do crazy things when they do not get enough sleep'.

The officer said the doctor could press charges but Warn once again declined.

Authorities said 'there was talk' that both sons suffered from mental illnesses, but that it had not been verified.

Marian Werfel, a neighbor of the brothers, said the men rarely left the house unless they were going to the grocery store.

'They were such shy, shy boys,' she told FOX 8. 'You would never think they could do this. They were very quiet, kept to themselves.'

Werfel said that Mark was a 'shadow' of Michael and 'did everything his brother wanted him to do'.

Neither brother had a criminal record, according to their father, butBeachwood police records reveal multiple incidents involving them.

In2015, Jane Warn called the police to report strangers were in the house.Richard Warn returned home to find Michael and Mark standing in the living room.

'Michael stated that they were in the house looking for some hats. Richard said that Michael and Mark were not to be in the house as they no longer lived there,' the report states.

Warn leaves behind a third child, an adult daughter, who declined comment to FOX 8 News.

The neighbor said she saw Warn visit his sons at the house until 2015, and that he used to go shopping for the men and buy them everything they needed.

He'd even purchase toilet paper for his adult sons. She said that she's never seen anyone else enter the home aside from their father.

'I think he basically was saying boys, man up,' she said. 'I'm not doing things for you anymore.'

'And I think maybe they just went off the deep end.'

'There was some friction amongst the family, but that's kind of a family matter, but nothing that points us to say this or that was a clear motive,' Chief Gary Haba said.

Haba said it is not yet clear if one or both of the brothers committed the murder.

Detectives have not established a motive.